


if ever your fortress caves

by Flumes



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Domestic, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen, Hirugami is still a vet, Hoshiumi is a werewolf, M/M, No Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Pack Dynamics, Sibling Bonding, Teen Wolf levels of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26147110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flumes/pseuds/Flumes
Summary: “What is it? Why are you smiling like that?” Hirugami flashes his chopsticks at his brother.“If Kourai pretended to court you for a little while then it gets the other wolves off our backs and it means I don’t need to worry so much about you.”Hirugami chokes on air, sputtering. Hoshiumi looks about as thrilled as he feels.“It would only be until this all tides over.” From the smile on Fukurou’s face he’s enjoying this. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad, is it? To be honest, Sachirou, I’d really feel better if you had Kourai keeping an eye on you. I don’t think Meian’s pack would be bold enough to come after you then.”
Relationships: Hirugami Fukurou & Hirugami Sachirou, Hirugami Sachirou/Hoshiumi Kourai
Comments: 57
Kudos: 189





	if ever your fortress caves

**Author's Note:**

> _... you're always safe in[mine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNwNSU5NikU)_

“Have nice weekend, Sachirou. I’ll drop by on Sunday to check the overnights.”

Ten minutes before closing time Hirugami waves goodbye to Suwa and locks the front door so he can clean up interrupted. He’s always thorough when it comes to taking care of the clinic; the lives of his animal patients depend on it, and besides, if he doesn’t do it properly now then it becomes a problem for his future self in the morning. Rather than adding to the considerable work of setting up for the day, Hirugami prefers to wind down with the routine work of looking over the cat that’s recovering from an operation to reset its broken leg, and the dog with the stomach infection, before moving onto wiping down the examination room.

It’s been a pretty quiet day and he feels a little restless, scrubbing circles onto the examination table as he disinfects it. Sometimes it feels good to stay behind and take care of the clinic. After opening his own veterinary practice with Suwa, he’s become attached to the place in a way he never could have imagined. He loves the colourful posters on the walls, the muffle of different animal voices as people wait in the modern reception, and the way sunlight filters through the windows at the front during dusk. Even if he works longer hours that he ever should to cover all their patients, and even if there’s days that make him want to turn and walk right back out the door, he genuinely loves the building itself and all that it represents.

Peeling off his gloves, Hirugami grabs the broom to do a quick sweep of the floor before he heads home for the night, making his way through to the reception area which looks eerily still when empty of the usual throng of waiting bodies. He has already switched all but the porch light off, casting it in a strange gloom, the shadows stretching out around him. Orange light spills in through the front windows, the sticker letters on the glass advertising Kamomedai Veterinary Clinic warped in shadow across the floor. Walking through the reception is normally a whirlwind of noise, cats yowling in their cages as dogs bark and parrots chirp and the owners hassle Nozawa behind the reception desk.

It’s just as he’s sweeping the last of the animal hair and dust into the bin that a frantic knock batters against the door. Hirugami freezes with his jacket halfway on, turning to the door as the pounding grows louder. In his pocket his phone begins to buzz. Grabbing his broom, he creeps closer to the door, fearing he’s about to be robbed. A familiar voice calls out, muffled.

“Sachirou, open the damn door! I know you’re still in there!”

Hirugami scrambles towards the door, fumbling with his keys. Wresting it open, he gapes at his brother Fukurou as he muscles his way past, wild eyed and streaked with blood. In his arms is a bundle of fur, so pale it’s almost pure white, and matted with red all across its hide. Swearing, he slams the door closed and runs after him, mind running away from him as he puts together all the pieces. Fukurou, frantic, with an animal in his arms. He doesn’t own a dog, so it can’t be that, and his girlfriend Kanoka doesn’t either. But the animal is certainly dog-shaped, the length of its snout and its pointed ears unmistakable as Fukurou places it on the freshly cleaned examination table.

Hirugami slides into the room, shedding leather for his white lab coat. “Please don’t tell me that’s what I think it is,” he says, pulling on a fresh pair of rubber gloves.

Fukurou is leaning over the white canine, gentle hands cradling its head. He looks up when Hirugami approaches, his face blanched and contorted with a concern he doesn’t normally show. “You need to save him Sachirou. He was – the attack. I couldn’t stop it but he’s –”

“He’s one of yours, isn’t he?” he says, checking for a pulse. Weak, but fluttering beneath his fingers. That’s something. “Fukurou?”

Fukurou chokes out a noise. “Yeah, he’s one of mine.”

“He should be in a hospital! I’m a vet, not a doctor!”

“I can’t take him to a hospital,” Fukurou says. “He can’t shift with an injury like this. You need to help him in this form. Right now he’s still –”

“Still a wolf. Yeah, I see that.” Hirugami presses along the wolf’s side, gently tilting his forelegs away so he can see the wound. Hissing, he draws the light towards him to get a better look at the shredded flesh of his abdomen. A series of lines have been gouged into the flesh, weeping dark blood that seeps into the white fur. His stomach flips. It doesn’t take a vet to read what’s happened in this situation; another wolf has attacked him.

“I thought wolves were supposed to heal faster than humans,” he says as a sudden calm settles over him. Focus finds him in moments like these, stripping down everything until there’s nothing but him and his patient. It’s the part of being a vet that he enjoys the most.

“They do,” Fukurou says, falling back against the wall as if he can no longer hold himself up. “But it’s different when it’s another wolf.”

Hirugami looks up. This is the most his brother has ever spoken to him of his condition. Normally he guards the secrets of his pack tight-lipped, even his own family removed from this facet of his life. Only Hirugami knows that both his brother and sister are werewolves, discovering the secret back in high school when Shouko had still been struggling to control her shift. More than once he’s helped Fukurou out with an injury; a broken bone here, or a gash there. Never anything like this.

“He’s going to need stitches to stop the bleeding,” he says, already reaching for the shaver so he can properly access the wound free of tangled fur. “You’re better leaving me to work. I’ll get you when I’m done.”

“I’m not leaving him. I’m his alpha, I can’t just –”

“Yes, you can.” Hirugami fixes him with a look. “I am very good at what I do, which you clearly know otherwise you wouldn’t have brought him here. You’re going to have to make a decision now. Do you trust me?”

For a long moment Fukurou stares at him, tension crackling. Hirugami swears he hears growling beneath his breath. Then after what takes far too long given his patient is bleeding out before him, Fukurou’s shoulders slump and he nods. “Of course I do.”

“Then get out. I have a wolf to save.”

And so Hirugami finds himself pulling overtime, alone in the deathly quiet of his clinic as he stitches up each of the gouge lines, careful with the delicate skin between. Sweat beads on his brow from concentration, feeling the fluttering breaths of the wolf beneath him and discarding the thought that the creature beneath his hands is not just an animal, but a human being in another form. It notches up the pressure but he keeps his hands steady, releasing a breath when he finishes the final stitch. He allows himself a moment to roll the stiffness from his shoulders and neck, wincing when a joint cracks.

From there he cleans the wound around the patch of shaved skin, hairs clumped together with dried blood messing the floor he has just cleaned. He dresses it with bandages around the wolf’s torso, leaning back to survey his work when he’s finished. The wolf’s vitals appear to be okay and his breathing has evened out somewhat, less shallow than it was before. In truth he feels a little lost with what to do, unsure how werewolf physiology differs from the real animal. Even a wolf is different from a dog and Hirugami specialises in household animals.

Cleaning the blood from his hands and repeating the ritual of tidying up, his mind drifts as he considers Fukurou. Surely this cannot be the first time one of the wolves has sustained an injury and yet Hirugami has never seen a single member of Fukurou’s pack beyond Shouko, so why now? The only time he had ever asked, back when he had first discovered the secret, Fukurou had merely said that wolves have supernatural healing abilities, and for anything more severe the hospital would still find them to be ordinary, if particularly athletic, humans.

Hirugami leaves the operating room, finding Fukurou sitting in the darkness on one of the plastic waiting room seats with his head bowed over his hands. He lingers for a moment, observing. Whoever this wolf is, he clearly means a lot to his brother. Pack. A ripple of familiar resentment worms beneath his skin but he quashes it. Now is not the time to get into the secret that has carved a space between them across the years.

“I’ve stitched up his wounds.” Fukurou’s head shoots up, breath snagging. “He’s stable but I really can’t tell much more for now. I think we should keep him in here overnight. I don’t want to move him and risk tearing the wound again. He’s already lost a lot of blood but I honestly have no idea what a blood transfusion would do to a werewolf.”

Fukurou nods, shadows deep beneath his eyes. “Once the healing takes hold he should be okay. When injuries are that bad and they come from another werewolf… there’s only so much the body can fight off.”

Hirugami drops into another seat, a gap left between the two of them. Stretching his legs out, he lets his head fall back against the wall, exhaustion sinking into him now that the adrenaline is wearing off. “What happened to him?”

“He was attacked by another wolf.”

Hirugami snorts. “I can see that.” A beat. “Are you involved in some kind of trouble?”

“No.” Fukurou meets his gaze. “I’m not. We keep to ourselves, within our own territory. There aren’t many packs who want to mess with ours. We’re pretty notorious across the city and beyond, you know.”

“Mm, of course.” Hirugami would expect no less from his own blood. It has been hardwired into them from a young age, success. “But I’m guessing this isn’t a regular occurrence or the rest of the world would know about werewolves by now.”

Fukurou sighs, rubbing at his eyes. “It was a stupid mistake. We took in some young wolves from our sister packs recently, who were too strong for their small town packs. It can cause fights sometimes, you know? When younger wolves are seen as a threat. Hoshiumi is a bit like that, even if he doesn’t mean it.”

“How old is he?” The wolf is smaller than he would expect given what he knows of them.

“About your age, I think. He’s strong, though. Stronger than me.”

Hirugami considers this. “Would he challenge you to leadership?”

Fukurou frowns. “I don’t think so. Certainly not as he is now. Perhaps when he’s older, but honestly I think he’s too reckless for that –”

A series of thumps rattle the clinic door and Hirugami freezes, swivelling to look at his brother. Fukurou’s posture has completely changed, shoulders tense and lips pulled back in a snarl, but a moment later he relaxes and leaps to his feet. “It’s okay. It’s just some of my boys.”

Fukurou doesn’t get the chance to open the door, two tall men tumbling through into the waiting room. It must be a wolf thing, Hirugami surmises, because despite their youth these two carry such a presence that even he can feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Still, he’s not about to let himself be bowled over by anyone, not even some posturing alpha wolves, so he shoulders past his brother to check his door.

“Will you please be careful with the door?” he grumbles. “I need to pay for that if you break it.”

“Where is he?” says the larger of the two in a deep, rumbling voice.

“He’s just through here,” says Fukurou. “Careful, he’s just been under operation and he’s still sedated.”

The three disappear into the back room without even sparing him a glance. Hirugami blinks, taking a moment to process before he races through after them. “Hey, this isn’t a petting zoo! What are you –”

“Touch between pack helps to speed up the healing process,” Fukurou says gently, coming towards him. His two pack members have turned their heads towards him, fixing him with hostile glares despite the fact that they stand in his clinic. They each have a hand on the white wolf, stroking gently through his pelt. “Guys, relax. This is my younger brother, Sachirou.”

The one who spoke before seems to ease up, nodding. “Apologies,” he says in his rumbling monotone. “It is difficult to fight the instinct when one of our own is injured.”

“Look, I get that you have your fight club thing,” Hirugami says, raising his palms, “and I’m not here to intrude upon that. But right now that guy there is my patient, so you’re going to have to trust me with him if you want him to pull through tonight.”

“Sachirou, this is Ushijima,” he says, gesturing to the imposing looking man with the powerful build. “And this here is Kageyama.” The black haired man with the sharp eyes watches him as he steadily approaches.

“You never mentioned your brother,” says Kageyama.

Fukurou looks uncomfortable for a moment but Hirugami snorts, drawing a surprised look from him. “Because I’m not a wolf so I don’t get to be privy to this little secret. Well, until I’m useful.” He flashes a grin at Fukurou and then shoos Kageyama out of the way, fighting the instinct to flinch when Kageyama growls.

“How does he look?” says Ushijima.

Hirugami checks Hoshiumi’s vitals, pleased to find that at the very least he is still stable. “It’s too early to tell how he’ll react to the surgery and I don’t know a lot about the biology of werewolves. I’m going to stay with him overnight.” He checks the clock, wincing when he sees it’s already approaching two am. His skin feels dry and tight, his eyes heavy. One of these days he’ll stop doing so much voluntary overtime.

“You have a bed here?” says Fukurou.

“There’s a sofa in the back office,” he says. Hirugami looks between each of the three very tall, very intimidating werewolves fixing him with intent looks. “That’s your cue to leave.”

Kageyama makes a noise of protest, Ushijima’s gaze narrowing. “We do not leave our own,” he intones. “They might come back for him.”

“Nuh uh,” Hirugami says, looking to Fukurou. “This is my clinic and I’m not having it be a battleground for whatever little gang war you’ve got yourself into. “Tomorrow is Saturday so you can return in the morning and I might let you in but I don’t want you all lingering here tonight.”

“Sachirou,” says Fukurou. “It might be safer to have us here, just in case.”

“Something tells me it’s more likely to cause problems if you’re all here at once.” Each of them tenses, only proving his hunch correct. “Seriously, get out of my clinic. I will treat my patient and you can visit him in the morning. I’m sure Hoshiumi doesn’t need you all poking and prodding him when he’s trying to recover.”

In the end it’s not unlike herding sheep, shooing them out into the waiting room and beyond. Once Ushijima and Kageyama have stepped out into the night, Fukurou lingers. “Are you sure you’ll be okay with him? He might be a bit violent when he awakens, especially when he’s in unfamiliar surroundings.”

“He’ll smell you though, won’t he?”

Fukurou blinks and Hirugami smiles. “You have a stronger sense of smell than a human, right? So he’ll smell your presence.”

Fukurou huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “Alright, fine, you’ve got this. Just, make sure you lock your door. And call me if there’s any problems.”

“I’ll be fine,” he says, closing the door behind his brother and then flopping against it with a sigh. His eyes are stinging, his body feels heavy, and he’s left with the oppressive silence of the clinic. He honestly hasn’t thought about his brother like this for a long time, having long accepted he would never be invited into the secret shared between Fukurou and Shouko. It’s not like he cares, really. But it’s one thing to know that his brother is a werewolf, and another entirely to witness the evidence of it bleeding all over his freshly mopped floor.

“What the hell?” he says to himself, locking and bolting the door. He trudges through to check on Hoshiumi one last time before passing through into his office, stripping off his doctor’s coat and kicking off his shoes. There’s a beat up sofa tucked in against the wall, a cast off from Suwa’s aunt, and he drops into it, wincing at the way he has to contort himself to fit into it properly. Draping the coat over him, he lets his eyes slide closed, but he can’t shut off his racing thoughts.

Despite how exhausted he is, Hirugami lies awake for the next hour, wolves running through his mind. When he eventually succumbs to sleep, he dreams of a pack running through the woods, their piercing howls sending shivers down his spine. Amongst them runs a smaller, white wolf with eyes the same shade of green as the ocean. Those eyes linger even as the rest of the image dissolves, haunting.

*

Light streaming through the blinds greets Hirugami as he blinks awake. He sits up with a groan, rubbing at the crick in his neck. His mouth is dry and he feels like utter shit, which is exactly what he gets for sleeping on the busted sofa in his office, something he’s done too many times now to know he should never attempt it again. A series of high-pitched barks shakes him from the fog lingering in his mind, jerking to his feet as the events of the previous night come trickling back in.

Running through to the back room with his coat halfway on, he skids to a stop as he’s met with the sight of a man sitting up, head cocked to the side as he peers into a cage where Chiyo the dog has been kept overnight. She continues to bark at him until he does something that Hirugami can’t really see from the door, but she instantly quietens, whining with her tail between her legs.

Hirugami takes a step inside and the man’s head whips around. He stills. The man sits unabashedly naked, feet dangling over the end of the metal table. Across his muscled chest is a series of nasty gouges an angry shade of pink, bandages littered around him. If Hirugami is struck by disbelief at him being upright and his wounds sealed, he can’t deny the same close-cropped white hair and sea-green eyes as the wolf he operated on the night before. Hoshiumi.

Everything about him screams predator, from his form compact with muscle, to the tilt of his head as he narrows his eyes at Hirugami, assessing. He’s eerily still, so still that Hirugami hardly dares to breathe, remembering his brother’s warning. Then suddenly he swings his feet, sprightly for a man on death’s door mere hours before.

“You look like him.”

Hirugami shakes himself into motion, approaching Hoshiumi with steady steps. “I’m assuming you’re referring to Fukurou.” He grabs his tools, snapping on fresh gloves. “Will you let me check you over? I need to…” Honestly he’s not even sure where to begin. He can hardly believe his eyes, fingers twitching with the need to verify that, yes, in fact, the wounds are already halfway healed. “I’m going to need to remove your stitches right away if you’re going to heal that quickly.”

Hoshiumi snorts. “What? You never seen a wolf before?”

“Well, not really. No.”

“Wait, for real? But your brother is one!”

“You’re the first wolf I’ve seen aside from the time I first discovered his secret.”

Hirugami lifts his stethoscope but Hoshiumi ducks out of his way, a hand landing on his wrist. Warmth floods his skin. “How can that be? I mean, Shouko is –”

“My sister, yes.”

“And your brother is the alpha of our pack.” Hoshiumi bounces in place. “Aren’t you practically a legacy wolf?”

Hirugami narrows his eyes. “I’m not a wolf. What I am is a vet, and I am trying to help you but I can’t do that if you won’t sit still.”

“Oh, right.” Hoshiumi stills himself for perhaps a second before he’s squirming again as Hirugami checks his heartbeat, then his vitals, then draws a vial of blood for testing, releasing a huff of breath as the syringe plunges into the vein.

“So, like, what’s the deal there?” he says as Hirugami turns away to fetch his tweezers and scissors. “How come you aren’t a wolf? How come I’ve never seen you before?”

Shrugging, Hirugami wipes down each of the gashes with antibacterial wipes, stilling Hoshiumi with a gentle hand to his shoulders. “Fukurou never wanted me to know so I never pushed it.” He snips the first stitch and then gently pulls the section of thread away. It’s truly incredible how quickly the wound has sealed, his finger brushing the raised pink flesh in wonder.

“Really? You discovered that your brother was a werewolf and just, what, shrugged and went on with your life?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s ridiculous. Weren’t you the least bit curious?”

“I guess?” He has to keep his focus with the way Hoshiumi keeps moving, as if keeping still is physically painful for him. “Honestly, I was more wrapped up in trying to keep my grades up and playing volleyball when both of my siblings were supernaturally gifted. Fukurou made it clear that I wasn’t invited to that particular party so I never pushed.”

Hoshiumi squints at him, Hirugami continuing onto the second cut. He should probably be more disconcerted about being alone in a room with a naked werewolf, one whom his brother has already warned him is both powerful and temperamental, and yet he feels oddly calm around him. Hoshiumi, he thinks, is more like the inquisitive animal always poking its nose into things, rather than the one with its teeth bared because it thinks it has its back to the wall. There’s a steadiness to him, like even being mauled half to death and waking up in a strange room doesn’t faze him. Hirugami envies his attitude.

“You know, I don’t understand that at all. If it was me I wouldn’t have been able to stop thinking about werewolves.” He huffs out a short laugh. “Suppose I never got the option.”

Hirugami raises a brow but Hoshiumi doesn’t continue, momentarily subdued enough to allow him to snip the last stitch and pull it through. Before he can stop himself he finds his hand roaming the ridged flesh, awed by the sight of it. To think his brother has had this capability all along and he never even knew it. Sure, he had known that wolves healed more quickly, but this is something else entirely. There could be all kinds of medical breakthroughs if more people knew about wolves – so many new drugs created – but he yanks himself back from that chain of thought before he can get carried away. This is likely why Fukurou didn’t want to involve him.

“Pretty impressive, huh?” Hoshiumi says, puffing out his chest.

It’s at that moment that he hears the rattle of the door and he jerks his hand back, realising what a picture they must make. Hirugami clears his throat and then sighs when he hears Fukurou pounding on the door again and shouting his name. If he breaks the door he can damn well pay for it. He doesn’t want to have to explain this to Suwa.

Skipping out, he unlocks and unbolts the door, staggering back as three giant werewolves sweep past him. “Hello to you, too,” he grumbles.

Hirugami finds Fukurou, Ushijima and Kageyama gathered around Hoshiumi on the metal table, Ushijima passing over cotton joggers and a T shirt which he shrugs on, wincing as he tugs the shirt over his head. Hirugami elbows his way through the pack, grumbling about him not pulling on fresh wounds, when he’s stopped by a wall of growling and snarling that roots him to the spot. He forgets that wolves are territorial animals and that werewolves likely have similar instincts, but that’s still not going to get between him and a patient. In her cage Chiyo whines.

“Relax, relax, guys,” says Hoshiumi, planting a hand on each of Kageyama and Ushijima’s shoulders and muscling them apart as if he isn’t considerably smaller than both of them. “Sachirou’s my doctor.”

“Yes, I am,” Hirugami says forcefully, looking at Fukurou’s sheepish expression. “And you,” he says, pointing at Hoshiumi, “need to be careful about how you move right now, werewolf healing be damned. Your body needs time to recover. I don’t want you back here because you ripped your wounds open.”

“I’m not stupid!”

Hirugami just raises his brows and Hoshiumi scowls. Turning to the others, he says, “And I expect the three of you to keep him out of trouble.”

Fukurou laughs. “I wish I could! Kourai has a mind of his own and a natural affinity for trouble.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You were foolish enough to challenge Hinata Shouyou,” says Ushijima, expression undecipherable. 

Tension ripples across the room, all four members of Fukurou’s pack falling quiet. Hirugami looks between them. “What? What is it? Who is Hinata Shouyou?”

Fukurou sighs. “He’s kind of like, hm,” he scratches the side of his head, “like werewolf royalty, almost? Musubi are a rival pack to ours and they, much like ours, are connected to many others across the country. Each pack sends their strongest young wolves to defend their territory under Meian Shuugo.”

“So you, what,” he says, swinging to Hoshiumi, “challenged a super important wolf and now everyone wants your head?”

Hoshiumi doesn’t even attempt to look chastised. “I wanted to know who was stronger,” he says, folding his arms across his chest.

Kageyama’s expression is pinched, like he’s just smelled something sour. “There are a lot of people who would kill for Hinata, beyond even Musubi.”

“He does have a knack for making friends in high places,” says Fukurou. “Challenges for werewolves are serious,” he adds. “That kind of thing often results in a fight to the death.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

Fukurou pinches his nose, looking at Kageyama. “You both ran together as pups. Can’t you do something?”

Kageyama shrugs. “Hinata isn’t the problem, really. I don’t think Hinata minds being challenged. It’s everyone else.”

Hirugami watches this unfold with a dawning understanding of exactly why Fukurou wanted him away from this. He’s struck by the fact that he’s standing in his place of work on a Saturday morning still wearing yesterday’s clothes while a pack of werewolves discuss all out pack war like it’s some inevitable conclusion to the actions of the wolf he literally just stitched up about nine hours ago, now jumping and exclaiming that he is not at fault. Catching Fukurou’s gaze, he watches his brother grimace and feels a ripple of uncertainty. There’s a reason he’s never tried too hard to become involved in his brother’s pack, feelings about the whole thing be damned.

“Don’t worry,” says Fukurou, slinging an arm around his neck. “They won’t come for you since you’re a human. Even a pack like Musubi respects the rules. No humans.”

It doesn’t assuage him in the least. “What does that mean for the rest of you?”

They all shift on their feet, none of them meeting his gaze. Hirugami rubs at his temple, wishing that Fukurou had never brought Hoshiumi to his clinic in the first place. “I don’t really want to find out that half of you have been murdered in some stupid werewolf war. Isn’t there something you can do?”

Ushijima looks thoughtful. “I can try to talk with Meian-san. I am sure he –”

“No, no, let’s scratch that idea,” says Fukurou quickly.

“I’ll talk to Hinata,” Kageyama says, expression pensive. “They all know that we’re friends.”

Fukurou nods. “If you can at least try and tide things over a little. Make them understand that Kourai wasn’t seriously challenging Hinata – no, don’t say a thing.”

Hoshiumi pouts, slumping against the table.

“Good, glad that’s sorted,” Hirugami says with a cheeriness he doesn’t feel, “now all of you get the hell out of my clinic.”

*

By the time Hirugami finishes his shift on Monday night he’s practically swaying on his feet with exhaustion. The weekend yielded little sleep, his thoughts filled with his brother and his ragtag pack and whether he would awaken to find out on the news that they had been torn to shreds in some gory crime scene. As expected, Fukurou is now ghosting his texts, acting like he was never involved in the first place. It prickles beneath his skin; if Fukurou didn’t want him to get invested he should never have brought them into his clinic in the first place.

“Hey, you need me to lock up? You look dead on your feet.” Suwa ducks his head around the corner of the office, jacket already on.

Hirugami waves him away. “Off you go. I won’t be long, I just need to finish up with Yamada-san’s rabbit and then I’m out of here.”

“You sure? I can ask Nozawa to stick around and help.”

“Shoo, shoo. Off to Hana-chan’s. Some of us have no one waiting for us to return to.” It’s true. All that’s waiting for him is an empty apartment and leftovers in the fridge.

“Thanks, man,” Suwa says, footsteps fading as he leaves.

Hirugami sighs and rubs his eyes, considering sending another text to his brother, but, no, if he doesn’t want him butting in then that’s just fine. He’s got enough on his plate as it is without worrying about a whole pack on top of it. So he returns the rabbit to her cage and cleans down the surgery room, the air filling with the stark smell of disinfectant tinged with lemon. By the time he’s done it’s nearly nine and he leans on his broom for a moment to keep himself steady. It’s probably about time he’s due a holiday. He pictures lounging in a hammock by the sea with a good book and an endless supply of alcohol and feels some of the stiffness leave his shoulders as he reaches for his jacket and keys.

A shadow passes across the square of orange light on the linoleum from the streetlight outside. Hirugami spins, keys jangling in his hands. It’s just a tree out on the street swaying. He huffs out a laugh, scolding himself for getting worked up about nothing, making his way to the door when the handle starts to rattle. Glancing around him, he only has time to snatch up his broom and wield it in front of him handle first, when two men burst through the door.

“Where is he?” says the one in front, deceptively casual with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, but there’s a predatory gleam in his eyes. As he moves into the dim light of the street Hirugami catches blond hair and dark eyebrows. A menacing smirk. “I can smell him here.”

The man behind him trails like a shadow, dark hair falling in waves over pale skin. A mask covers most of his face, only emphasising the severity of his stare.

“Sorry,” Hirugami grits out, forcing a smile to match the stranger’s, “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

The blond lifts a brow. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna fly.” He sniffs. “This place reeks of Hirugami’s pack.”

Hirugami’s grip tightens on his broom, narrowing his eyes. “I have no idea who you are, or what you want, but I’m giving you five seconds to get out of my clinic or I’m going to phone the police.”

The man’s grin widens. “Aw, come on, my man. We’re all friends here, aren’t we, Omi-kun?”

Apparently Omi-kun says nothing, dark eyes never leaving Hirugami. Something tells him this is the man he should be more afraid of, rather than the posturing blond getting into his space. It doesn’t escape him, however, that he’s currently trapped with two werewolves blocking the door and no one to come for him. He fights his racing heartbeat, sure the man can hear it from the way his gaze sharpens.

“He’s human,” Omi-kun says.

“I can see that,” the blond barks back, “but look at him. He knows.”

Hirugami doesn’t move, merely keeps his gaze fixed between the pair of them. “I also know that hurting humans is against your rules which means you’re not going to do anything. So, if we’re done with this little show, maybe you’ll let this tired vet get some shut-eye tonight.”

A hand plants in his chest and pushes him back with considerable force, the smile dropping off the man’s face. “See, those rules only apply to unaligned humans.” He sniffs again. “And you smell like him. Which makes me think yer affiliated to the pack. You make a few extra bucks looking after wolves on the sly, do ya?”

So this is why Fukurou had been so insistent. _For all the good that it did,_ he thinks, wondering if he might be easier just telling them the truth about his situation. Then again, these wolves must be from the Musubi pack, as Fukurou had described, and likely don’t want to hear to what they think will only be excuses when they have already made up their minds. Instead Hirugami plants his feet and bores into the blond with the Kansai accent.

“Get out of my clinic now. I warned you.”

“Heh.” The man poises to strike and Hirugami braces himself for the worst when a hair-raising snarl takes all three of them off guard. Suddenly a white blur slams into the blond and then the pair of them are growling at one another, Hoshiumi pressing him into the wall with an arm at his throat. Despite being several inches shorter Hoshiumi’s eyes are intense and he has no trouble pinning his opponent down. Fukurou hadn’t been kidding when he had mentioned the man’s strength.

“What are you doing here, Atsumu?” Hoshiumi snarls.

Atsumu’s mouth curves. “I knew I smelled ya here. Glad to see you’re on yer feet again.”

“Yeah? You have something to do with that, did you?” Claws appear on Hoshiumi’s hand, scraping across the skin of Atsumu’s throat and drawing blood.

Atsumu still doesn’t appear to be concerned but Hirugami is. He doesn’t want to watch one of his brother’s pack murder someone in his clinic. Not only will it damn Fukurou’s reputation, the paperwork would be horrendous and right now he wants nothing more than to crash into bed.

“Hoshiumi-kun,” he says.

Atsumu catches his eye, grinning.

“Why are you here?” Hoshiumi says, ignoring Hirugami.

“Ya know why we’re here.”

Hirugami watches the dark haired man, still lingering by the door. He has made no attempt to help his companion, no trepidation in his eyes. Either he is unafraid of Hoshiumi’s intentions in this moment, or he simply does not care whether Atsumu gets his throat ripped out right in front of him.

“Look, I only wanted to see who was stronger between me and Shouyou. I wasn’t trying to – I don’t know – make some kind of declaration. Jeez, even Shouyou himself isn’t this worked up.”

Atsumu’s expression morphs into confusion. He shoves Hoshiumi off him, wiping at the blood at his throat, but makes no move to attack. “No one who knows you thinks ya were actually trying to kill Shouyou-kun.”

Hoshiumi’s eyes bug. “Then what the hell is your problem?”

Atsumu meets Omi’s gaze, a flicker of uncertainty showing for the first time. “Kourai-kun, everyone thinks ya were trying to court Shouyou-kun.”

Hoshiumi freezes. Everyone in the room seems to hold a breath. Then he throws his hands in the air. “What? What makes you think I’m trying to court him?”

Hirugami doesn’t know how serious this courting is but given what he knows of animal behaviours he’s guessing it’s a bit more serious than going out on a date. From the way Atsumu looks more and more uncertain, it appears that there’s been some kind of mix up anyway. Hirugami doesn’t know this Hinata, and given all that’s unfolded in his name he’s glad he doesn’t, because he can only imagine what kind of wolf this man must be to have so many other wolves fighting on his behalf.

“Ya made a declaration, didn’t ya? Ya were trying to prove your strength. I mean, it’s all anyone’s talking about.” Again he looks at his companion, who hunches over, frowning.

“Leave Sakusa out of this,” Hoshiumi says, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “He wouldn’t know a thing about courting if Ushijima sat on his lap and declared his love for him.” Apparently Sakusa chokes. “And you clearly know even less, if you think I’m, what, romantically interested in your little prince.”

Atsumu scratches his chin. “Ya might want to make that clear to the community,” he says. “Half the wolves in Tokyo are after yer head right now because they think ya were trying to force him into that.”

Hoshiumi looks faintly green, nose wrinkled and mouth pursed as a pained sound leaves his throat. Sensing this is about to deteriorate into chaos, Hirugami steps in. “Look, as fascinating as all this is, I have to be up early tomorrow for another shift and I haven’t had dinner yet. So, if you could kindly vacate the premises I can lock up and you can all continue this conversation somewhere far, far away from me.”

Atsumu’s gaze shifts to him, sending a shiver down his spine with an assessing look. “Looks like ya’ve found yourself an interesting human there, Kourai-kun.”

“That’s Fukurou-san’s brother,” Hoshiumi says.

Hirugami pinches his nose. Well, that secret’s out now.

“No, really?” Atsumu looks far too curious for a man who was minutes ago ready to fight Hoshiumi to the death. “Yeah, actually the similarities are uncanny now that I think about it.”

“You’re one to talk!” says Hoshiumi.

“Atsumu, we should leave.”

“You’re damn right you should.” Hoshiumi folds his arms over his chest. “This clinic is under the protection of Hirugami Fukurou’s pack. Being on enemy territory is grounds for retaliation, you know. Not that I don’t have it already.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll get going,” Atsumu says, too easily. “C’mon Omi-kun, let’s get going.” He pauses at the door, eyes dark and cold as they meet Hoshiumi’s. “My trust in ya better not be misplaced, Kourai-kun. If I find out ya ever so much as touch a hair on his head I will end you.” Then with a waggle of his fingers he disappears into the night, Sakusa on his heels.

Hirugami sinks back against the reception desk, releasing a long breath.

Hoshiumi turns, looking far too casual considering that a wolf shredded his abdomen into ribbons mere days ago. “Don’t mind him. He gets all pissy about Shouyou because he wants to be the one to court him.”

Hirugami groans, waving him away. “I don’t care about your weird werewolf politics. All I want is a hot meal and the sweet, sweet release of sleep.”

“I know a good ramen place down the corner,” Hoshiumi says.

Hirugami looks at him.

“We should probably talk anyway. I’ll call Fukurou-san.”

And isn’t that just fantastic. Yet another late night sucked into his brother’s goddamn werewolf shenanigans. Mourning his blessedly empty flat and the leftovers in his fridge, Hirugami grabs his jacket.

*

“So it’s because they think you’re courting Hinata?” Fukurou says between slurps of his noodles. “That makes more sense.”

“Does it?” says Hirugami.

“Mm. There are a lot of wolves interested in Meian’s little protege.”

Hirugami really is too tired for this, slumping onto his hand as he picks out pieces of pork from his broth. Admittedly it’s a pretty nice find, a little hole in the wall a few streets down from the clinic, with a cozy atmosphere created by traditional paper screens to give the tables a sense of privacy, and glass candle holders that throw warm light across each booth. Maybe he’ll come here after work some nights, bring some of the staff. He’s sure he’ll enjoy it more when he’s not listening to this nonsense werewolf talk.

“Can’t you just, like, say you’re not interested in him and be done with it?”

Fukurou rubs the scruff on his chin. “It’s a little more complicated than that if the packs think that Kourai has made a formal declaration.”

Hoshiumi sighs theatrically, stabbing at his spring onions with his chopsticks. “But I didn’t.”

“Plus we have to factor in the fact that they came after you, since you were the one to heal him that night.”

“Don’t say it.”

“I shouldn’t have gotten you involved, Sachirou. I’m sorry.”

This is exactly what he had wanted to avoid. Hirugami has never been interested in his brother’s weird guilt complex about the secrets he and Shouko keep from him; he’s more or less made his peace with being excluded from it. Now he’s left teetering on the precipice of falling into all this drama and he kind of appreciates that Fukurou wanted to keep him apart from it in the first place. Still, what’s done is done and there’s no helping that. It’s not like he prefers the alternative, which would have been letting Hoshiumi die.

“I saved your pack member, didn’t I?” he says. “I would say that’s more important.”

“Still –”

“It’s fine. Just – I’d rather focus on what we can do to fix this. I don’t want wolves busting my door down every night, thanks.”

Hoshiumi turns to him and fixes him with a serious look. “I’ll keep you safe. I won’t let them do anything to you.”

Hirugami blinks, taken aback by the sincerity in his tone. “Ah, you don’t need to go that far,” he says, plastering on a smile. “I’m fine. I don’t think they’ll actually come back now that they know.”

“But others might.” Fukurou has a thoughtful look on his face; the kind that generally means it’s something he isn’t going to like. He looks between Hirugami and Hoshiumi, tapping at his chin.

His fingers twitch around his chopsticks. “What is it?”

“I just had an idea, is all. A solution that would solve both problems at once.” His mouth quirks at the corners.

“What is it? Why are you smiling like that?” Hirugami flashes his chopsticks at his brother.

“If Kourai pretended to court you for a little while then it gets the other wolves off our backs and it means I don’t need to worry so much about you.”

Hirugami chokes on air, sputtering. Hoshiumi looks about as thrilled as he feels.

“It would only be until this all tides over.” From the smile on Fukurou’s face he’s enjoying this. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad, is it? To be honest, Sachirou, I’d really feel better if you had Kourai keeping an eye on you. I don’t think Meian’s pack would be bold enough to come after you then.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like they’re going to come back.” He looks at Hoshiumi. “You sorted it out with them, didn’t you?”

Hoshiumi shrugs, tipping his bowl to his face to drain the last of the meat broth. “Your brother does have a point. You’re just a human but if they think you’re pack then they won’t hesitate to hit us where they think we have a weak link.”

Hirugami elects to ignore the ‘just a human’ comment, turning his affronted expression on his brother. “Can’t you just convince that Atsumu guy to court Hinata? Can’t we just find out who _he_ wants to court and be done with it? I don’t really see why I need to be involved.”

“Unfortunately you already are involved,” Fukurou says with a pat to his shoulder. “Please will you just accept this for a few days, for me? I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you because of all this.”

And damn him, he knows where Hirugami is weakest. Years of distance between them haven’t severed the ties so severely that he doesn’t respond to such earnestness from his brother, particularly when he has spent years wondering just why he has always been pushed away, always on the fringes of the whispered conversations between Fukurou and Shouko. To now be included – to now be worried over by the brother he could never quite reach – it makes him feel oddly warm in a way he wants to scold himself for. He’s not a child anymore. He’s long over caring about the way it he used to.

“Fine,” he grits out. “Fine, but only for a few days. In the mean time, can you please sort out this mess? I meant it when I said I don’t want wolves showing up at my place of work.”

Fukurou brightens, tension lifting from his shoulders. “We’ll see what we can do.”

*

“I only have one bedroom so I’m afraid you’ll have to sleep on the couch,” Hirugami says as he toes his shoes off in the genkan and then flicks the switch in the hallway, wan yellow light washing the walls in a hazy glow. He pads through to the sitting room, gesturing to the beat up couch across from the TV, passing the kitchen aisle to grab water from the fridge. His leftovers still sit in their plastic container, probably already stinking up the place.

“It’s fine,” says Hoshiumi, standing in the centre of his living room as he looks around himself, a little aimless. Since they departed from the ramen place he’s been oddly subdued, stripped back of his larger than life personality. It’s the first time Hirugami has truly thought of him as small.

“You sure?” he says as he grabs a spare pillow and blankets from the cupboard and tosses them. Hoshiumi snatches them from the air, lightning quick.

“I’ve slept in the woods before, you know. This is nothing.”

“If you insist.”

Hirugami moves to retreat to his bedroom when Hoshiumi steps into his path. His gaze is intense enough to give him pause, brows drawing together. “What?”

“How are you reacting to all of this, really?”

“What do you mean?”

Hoshiumi waves a hand. “You know, the werewolf thing. You’ve barely had any interaction with us until your brother brought me to your clinic. You were ambushed just hours ago. There’s no way you’re this calm about it.”

Hirugami halts his brows before they can rise, fixing a smile upon his face. “I’m fine.” He points to his mouth. “See? No problem. I don’t care about any of this.”

Hoshiumi narrows his eyes, opening his mouth as if to say more, and Hirugami moves into his space before he can stop to think about it, grin widening at the way Hoshiumi tilts his head up to look at him. “I think the question I should really be asking, Kourai-kun, is if I’m really going to be a suitable replacement for your darling Hinata?”

Green eyes widen for a beat before Hoshiumi’s brows draw low. “I told you, I’m not courting Shouyou.”

“No.” He dips his head further, just for the thrill of rattling Hoshiumi a little. “You’re courting me now, aren’t you?”

With one last look at Hoshiumi’s struck expression, Hirugami sweeps past him into the bedroom and shuts the door. He pauses against it, listening to the stillness beyond, and finds himself smiling despite himself. Hoshiumi had been straying a little too close for comfort, somehow able to see through shiny teeth and an easy shrug in a way that people who have known him for years had yet to master. Still, it’s only for a few days, and he’s sure that of the two of them he’s a lot better at keeping to himself than Hoshiumi is. It might not be such a bad thing having his own supernatural bodyguard in the next room; it’s not like he has much faith in the security of his place.

Even so, he’s not sure how he feels about having to share his apartment with a stranger after so long on his own.

*

Nozawa whistles when he enters the clinic the next morning, his hair perfectly coiffed around his face. “Someone had a rough night.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Hirugami grumbles, sweeping past the reception desk into the clinic. In the back room a parrot squawks, a cat hissing in response. This awakens one of the puppies who begins her high-pitched yipping. Hirugami’s tired eyes shutter, his mind still lingering on the comforting warmth of his bed, and he trudges his way through his morning checks on autopilot.

After a late night Hirugami had fallen asleep to restless dreams about being chased by bright eyes through a dark forest. All around him he had heard snarling, the thump of paws against the ground following him no matter which direction he turned. He had awoken with a start to the pitch black of his room, his phone revealing it to be four in the morning. Saturated with sweat and burning up, he had been unable to settle back into sleep, turning to the kitchen only to find green eyes blinking back at him from the gloom of his living room. With a yelp, he had forced his beating heart to still and then told Hoshiumi to go back to sleep, shamed back into his own room until his alarm at six.

“We have a new patient next,” says Suwa, consulting the schedule. “I put your name against this one. It’s just a cat with signs of an ear infection, by my reckoning. I’ll be in the other room with another examination.”

Hirugami waves him off, consulting his chart as there’s a knock on the door. “Come in,” he calls, seeing out of the corner of his eye a man place a cat carrier on the table. “What seems to be the trouble, Oikawa-san, was it?” He looks up and pauses, unsettled. The man doesn’t bother letting out his cat, just stares at him with a small, knowing smile on his face. He’s handsome in an intimidating sort of way, cut in lean lines like an athlete, and it only makes his hackles rise further.

Hirugami tugs on the stethoscope around his neck. “What seems to be the problem with your cat?”

Oikawa waves a hand. “Iwa-chan Jr is fine, if a little irritable.” He rests a hand on the carrier and the cat inside hisses. Jerking it back with a grimace, he laughs it off as he waggles his fingers. “Grumpy little thing.”

“If you’re going to waste my time when I have patients who need me, then I am going to ask you to leave –”

“Oh, let’s not be so cold, Sachirou-chan.” Hirugami stiffens. Oikawa’s eyes flash. “So it is you true, hm? You’re really Hirugami’s brother. How interesting. I didn’t think he accepted humans into his pack.”

Hirugami resists taking a step back as Oikawa approaches, hand trailing the table. In the mirrored surface of the metal he thinks he catches claws but when he focuses all he sees is a normal human hand. Suddenly Oikawa is in his face, all white teeth as he stares him down despite Hirugami having a few inches of height on the man. It doesn’t stop the hairs on the back of his neck rising, a map of the room spinning through his mind as he calculates what he could turn into a weapon if this man attacks.

“I’m not a member of his pack,” he says. A flicker of frustration sparks in him. Hirugami has nothing to do with any of this; he wishes they would leave him out of it.

“And yet this place reeks of them.” Oikawa sniffs. “Of one wolf in particular. You must be trusted, if they brought Kourai-chan here.”

“I’m a vet. There really wasn’t much more to it than that.”

“Hmm.” Oikawa tilts his head. “Your heartbeat is steady. You’re an interesting one, Sachirou-chan. I think I can see why your brother trusts you.”

“I told you. I have nothing to do with any of this. I fix animals. That’s a vow I made when I graduated from university. There’s nothing deeper to it.”

“Be that as it may, I know you still have the ear of him so I will tell you anyway.”

Hirugami swallows his sigh, resisting rolling his eyes. “Look, I don’t know why you’re really here but I guarantee you I do not care about this Hinata –”

“ _Ah,_ ” Oikawa says, all humour stripping from his expression, “but that’s just it, isn’t it? Your brother isn’t going to be so happy to know how close I got to you.” A finger trails his jaw, making him shudder. Hirugami snatches it and drops it back down before he can stop to think about getting his face clawed off for his audacity.

“Tell your pack to stay away from Shouyou. If Kourai-chan wants anything to do with him he’s going to have to go through me.”

Hirugami rubs at his temple. “Yeah, yeah, look I get it. Everyone’s got it bad for this wolf boy but Hoshiumi isn’t trying to –” he pauses, adjusting to the term “– he’s not trying court Hinata.”

“Oh?” Oikawa tilts his head, fringe falling over his forehead. “You seem awfully sure for someone who claims to have nothing to do with the pack.”

Closing his eyes, he forces himself to think about his promise. About a wolf, drenched in blood and still on his operating table, and his brother’s pale, drawn face. “I know because Hoshiumi – because Kourai-kun is courting me.”

When he opens his eyes Oikawa is very still, gaze sweeping over him with raised brows. “Well, it would explain why you’re so calm.” There’s another long moment in which he finds himself being appraised. He hitches a breath. Oikawa takes a step back and the tension snaps, Hirugami exhaling in a sigh of relief. He grips the table so Oikawa can’t see how it keeps him steady.

Suddenly Oikawa is all smiles again, a bounce in his step as he gathers the cat carrier into his arms and skips to the door. Just as he’s about to leave he turns and glances over his shoulder, hand on the knob. “You are handsome enough. I suppose Kourai-chan has good taste, at least.” And with that he’s gone, disappearing into the throng of the reception waiting area.

Hirugami leans on his examining table and sighs. No matter how much he wants to insist he isn’t involved, there’s really no denying it now. Two visits in one week. Two very clear threats to both his person and his brother’s pack. The strange thing is, there’s a protective instinct that flares up in him when he thinks of the chaos of that night. Of the heavy silence that had followed after, as his brother had awaited the news of Hoshiumi’s fate.

Hirugami is fast approaching the point where he can no longer deny that he cares about all of this but he’s not really sure what means for him.

*

“I told you, I’m fine.”

“Still,” says Fukurou, poking around the clinic and sniffing, “it’s cause to be concern if other pack alphas are going to be showing up here.”

Hirugami leans against the wall, frowning. “Oikawa isn’t a Musubi wolf?”

“No. He’s the alpha of an affiliated pack by the name of Seijoh. Personally I don’t know what his connection to Hinata Shouyou is so I’m a little surprised that he came to see you.”

“ _Argh,_ how do you put up with all of this? Isn’t it a pain? All these stupid rules about this and that?” Hirugami runs a hand through his hair, rubbing at his eyes. “If Oikawa is so bothered about Hinata, why doesn’t he just werewolf-date him?”

Fukurou laughs at him. “It’s a little more complicated than that. It’s good you were able to tell him about you and Kourai though. Word should spread quickly enough on that.”

“Right. How long do I actually have to keep this charade up for?”

“Not long. Just enough for the other wolves to settle down. Speaking of, it might be worth trying to be more public about it for a while. It seems like there’s going to be eyes on the pair of you for the next few weeks.”

A chill crawls down his spine. At his expression, Fukurou raises his palms. “It’s fine. I won’t let anything happen to you. Besides, if you stick with Kourai for now they won’t touch you. He might not look it but there are few wolves who would dare take him on in a fight.”

“You know, somehow that doesn’t make me feel much better.”

Fukurou pats him on the shoulder. “It’s just a little while, Sachirou. Please? Just so I know you’re going to be safe.”

Damn him, he’s always been weak to sincerity from his brother. Hirugami pinches his nose. “Fine, fine. But you owe me one.”

“Of course. Just say the word and you’ve got it.”

Hirugami sighs, waving him off. “Don’t get too excited. We may still kill one another yet.”

*

“You really live like this?”

Hirugami sighs, flicking on a light to find Hoshiumi’s judging eyes follow him across the room. “Like what?”

As he steps towards the kitchen Hoshiumi stiffens, leaping to his feet. He actually sniffs, nose wrinkling, and then suddenly he’s in Hirugami’s space. “Why do you smell like another wolf?” His expression twists. “I know this scent.”

Hirugami drops his shopping bag on the kitchen counter and whirls, hands raised. “Look, don’t freak out, okay?”

Hoshiumi continues to scowl. “I’m not going to freak out.”

“Yeah, I’m really feeling convinced there, buddy.” His expression doesn’t change. “A man named Oikawa came to visit me at the clinic today.”

“Oikawa? That bastard!” A growl rips from Hoshiumi’s throat and then his hands are on Hirugami, poking and prodding all over him. “What did he do? Did he hurt you?”

“Hoshi – Kourai-kun,” he says, grabbing his wrists and holding them firm. He meets those green eyes. “I am fine. See?”

When it seems like Hoshiumi is no longer seconds from shifting, he drops his wrists and turns to begin putting away his shopping. He’d ended up dragging himself to the supermarket to pick up some actual vegetables. Living alone has allowed him to slack on his own self-care but now that he’s living with someone else he feels like he ought to attempt something other than microwaved dinners that still taste like the plastic container they came from. The weight of Hoshiumi’s gaze prickles the back of his neck as he leaves out leek, onions, tofu, mushrooms and beef.

“Before you go running off to get yourself in more trouble, all he did was warn me of the same thing that those other two did.” His knife slices through the mushrooms, resounding in the silence that hangs between them. “I think they all think I’m the weak link of the pack, or something. Easy pickings to threaten.” He starts on the leek, dicing it up into thin pieces and then filling water into a pot on the stove. “But I told him that you weren’t interested in Hinata because you were courting me. Fukurou says that it means we’re going to have to be more touchy-feely though. Sorry.”

“Stop it.”

The voice takes him aback, turning. Hoshiumi is fixing him with a serious stare, mouth pressed into a thin line.

“You’re acting so calm about this but there’s no way you can just be taking this all in your stride. It’s okay, you know. You’re allowed to react to having your life threatened. In fact, it’s really creepy that you haven’t.”

Hirugami raises a brow. “What do you want? Should I cry? Fall to my knees and sob?”

“Stop doing that. I’m not going to – to judge you for being afraid, or something. Jeez, it’s weird.”

He snorts. “Says you.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Before Hirugami can think up a reply, the water begins to boil and he turns back to the pot. “Go and set the table, will you? I’m making hot pot.”

“Can you even cook?”

“I don’t know. Can you even set the table?”

Hoshiumi huffs but Hirugami hears the sounds of him clattering around in his drawers as he puts together dinner, eyeing his spice rack before shrugging and throwing in pinches of a selection of jars. It’s been a while since he’s cooked a proper meal so he’ll have to hope for the best.

They sit to dinner at his cramped dining room table, the lights of the city washing over Hoshiumi as he scarfs down his dinner with such gusto that Hirugami feels a little flattered, pausing just to watch him. It still feels strange, to have someone take up space in his apartment instead of the usual emptiness. To be sharing a meal across a table instead of poking at it on his couch as he watches the news, or catches up on the latest V-League game. It’s kind of nice, he supposes, even if it’s not exactly real. Hoshiumi’s general presence makes up for the pretence, something about him so genuine regardless. Hirugami can see why Fukurou wanted him in his pack, strength aside.

“Do you have family, Kourai-kun?”

Hoshiumi chews on his beef the way a dog might, sloppy and smacking his lips. “Mmph. Parents. An older brother.”

“Do they know you’re…?”

“A werewolf.” Pale brows rise. “Yeah, we all are. Wolves stick with wolves. That’s why everyone was so surprised about you.”

“Oh.” He frowns. “So aren’t they like your pack?”

“Not really? I still see my mum often enough but my brother and I used to clash too much for it to really work. Around the time my skill in fighting started to show I moved through different packs until I was recommended for Fukurou’s pack. You know, your brother is the alpha of one of the most powerful packs in Japan.”

Hirugami’s not sure what to say to this, swirling his spoon in his broth. It makes sense. His family have always been a herd of perfectionists so of course they would be the best in all things, even if that thing is running a werewolf pack. Still, it feels a bit like having the floor cave under him, to know that he actually knew very little about his siblings at all. There’s an entire culture to this that he’s never known. Never been invited into. For the first time he lets his thoughts dwell on why he’s the only one of them who is not a wolf, wondering if he might have known his family more if he had.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that you don’t know any of this?”

Hirugami throws him a brittle smile as he rises from the table, losing his appetite. Exhausted, he simply tips his bowl into the sink and then deposits himself on the couch. “I mean, I’m not the one who’s instigated a pack war because I upset some werewolf prince, so.” He shrugs. “We all have our flaws, right?”

The chair squeaks against his floorboards and suddenly Hoshiumi is standing before him with his hands on his hips, blocking his view of the TV. “You’re in this now. Whether you want to be or not.”

“Yeah,” Hirugami says into the white noise of his apartment, wishing he had a beer in his hand. “I did promise, didn’t I?”

Hoshiumi utters a noise of frustration. “Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“So detached? You’re not like Fukurou-san at all.”

And that pierces through the thick layer of kevlar in which he’s sheathed himself. Hirugami leans back, letting his mouth curl the same way his hands do in his jeans. “Yeah, you’d rather be staying with your alpha now, would you? Want him to court you instead?”

Hoshiumi steps forward, nose wrinkling as his lips peel back from his teeth. The sound he produces from his chest is truly animalistic, rumbling deep enough to reverberate in Hirugami’s bones. For a second he sees it; the flashing eyes and lethal intent of a predator. Brother Fukurou may be to him, but he’s Hoshiumi’s alpha, and clearly disrespecting him in such a way transcends whatever leniency his blood affords him. Something about it is a little thrilling, shuddering down his spine and forcing him to sit upright. It’s not unlike the way he sees car headlights sometimes and just keeps walking because he’s not unwilling to dice with death, but only on his own terms.

“Hey,” he says gently, “I’m only messing with you. Come on.” He pats the couch beside him. “Fukurou says we need to have more contact in order to be believable. Something about making it more official so there’s no doubt you’re not interested in Hinata.”

“I’m not interested in Shouyou,” Hoshiumi says but there’s no heat in it.

“So you keep saying.”

There’s a long pause in which neither of them speak, Hirugami’s mouth strangely dry. He wonders if he really has offended Hoshiumi; whether it’s degrading in some way for him to be cavorting with a human, and find that it only makes his stomach twist with bitterness. But before he can wholly give himself into the thought he’s hit with the weight of Hoshiumi settling onto his lap, his face altogether too close for comfort. Hot puffs of breath wash over him, the onions from dinner. Everything about Hoshiumi burns hot, his eyes two lanterns in the middle of a stormy sea.

Without realising his hands have found Hoshiumi’s hips, feeling firm muscle as his thighs straddle him, a questioning noise leaving his throat. Hirugami remembers touching Suwa on the shoulder the time he told him he was moving in with his girlfriend, eyes shining, and the time he accidentally skimmed hands with a patient and felt his skin tingle afterwards. He’s brought people back to the apartment maybe twice and they were both gone before the first blush of sunrise. Touching isn’t really something he does if he can help it and yet he doesn’t really feel like shifting Hoshiumi off him, the warmth radiating from him pleasant in a way he can’t explain.

“If we’re going to convince wolves,” Hoshiumi says without a semblance of shame, “then we need to touch a lot more.”

“Is that –” he licks his lips “– is that a wolf thing, is it?”

Hoshiumi frowns, wriggling in his lap in a way that teeters on dangerous. “Wolves are very tactile and if it’s supposed to be true that I’m courting you, then we have to smell like one another.” Then suddenly he’s plunging his nose into Hirugami’s neck, nosing across his skin.

Hirugami utters a noise. “You know, the last time someone touched me like this, I got a blow job out of it.”

Fingers press into the flesh of his throat, a growl rumbling from Hoshiumi’s chest into his. Hirugami’s not sure what it says about him that it only makes him warmer. He lets his mouth fall closed as Hoshiumi nuzzles to the other side, his short hair bristling against the skin of his cheek. They’re almost flush and it’s unbearably intimate in the gloom of his apartment, the distant lights of the city twinkling through the slats in his blinds and washing Hoshiumi in magenta and cyan.

“Do you, ah, need me to do anything here?”

“Be quiet.”

“Yeah,” he sighs, letting his eyes fall closed at the sensation of a warm body against his. Maybe it’s been too long since he last got laid.

It feels like both an eternity and a second has passed when Hoshiumi rocks back with a satisfied noise, eyes heavy lidded. He sucks in a breath and nods. “You smell like me now,” he says as he lifts himself from Hirugami.

Cool air filters in as soon as he moves to the bathroom, light flicking on and then disappearing behind the door, and Hirugami’s fingers twitch at the loss. A car alarm goes off and it takes him a moment to register that it’s coming from outside, vaguely unsettled but in a way he can’t name. Unwilling to think it out, he grabs the remote and flicks on the TV. Hirugami watches a Division 2 game for another hour before he crashes into bed, dreaming about a warm body against his.

*

“This has been the second dog shot this week.” Suwa muses, consulting his clipboard.

“Is that so weird?” he says, scrubbing his hands clean after having given a litter of newborn kittens their injections. It has been the highlight of a hectic day, several emergencies wheeled through one after another. “You sure you’re good to take this one? I can jump in there if you –”

“You’ve been working hard enough as it is,” Suwa says with an easy smile. “Go take an early day and meet your brother. I’ve got it covered today.”

Hirugami claps him on the shoulder. “Thanks, my man. Drinks are on me next time.”

“Yeah, yeah. Off you get!”

He changes quickly, making a beeline for the back door of the clinic so he doesn’t have to wade through the bustling reception, relieved when he slips out into the back alley and is finally free of the dog that’s been howling all afternoon, the sound still echoing in his ears. Hands in the pockets of his jacket, he heads for the cafe where he agreed to meet Fukurou, feeling a strange flutter in his gut. Apparently he’s to meet the pack today, which is a strange thing to consider. There had been a time when all he had wanted was to be invited in, but now knowing all the danger it entails, he’s less sure about his interest.

Footsteps behind him cause him to twitch, glancing behind him. He’s steps away from the bright daylight of the open streets but he doesn’t get the chance to escape the confines of the narrow alley, one figure approaching from behind him and another approaching from the street. Hirugami resists a sigh, wondering what it’s going to take for these damn wolves to realise that he doesn’t care about their damn issues.

“I’m going to say the exact same thing I said to the last three wolves that hounded me at work,” he begins, looking between them. “This place is a no-wolf zone, thank you very much. Hoshiumi doesn’t stay here and, no, he’s not trying to steal your precious Hinata Shouyou.”

The wolf blocking his escape laughs, rocking on his heels. He has wild, silvery hair and a grin that gives him chills. “Well, I would hope not! I’m sure Hinata would have a few things to say about that.”

“Then why are you here?”

The other wolf with messy black hair saunters from the shadows. “Kenma was concerned, you see. Word on the street is that Hoshiumi was the first to make an official move and the Musubi pack isn’t sure whether to take it as an official declaration of war.”

“Well, it’s not.”

“Hey, Kuroo,” says the silver haired wolf, bouncing, “just smell him. It’s true.”

And then Hirugami is subjected to Kuroo leaning into his space and inhaling deeply, brows rising as the grin spreads across his face. “My, my. Hoshiumi Kourai is actually courting a human? I hardly believe it.”

“Why?” he says, his back to the brick behind him. “What’s so weird about that?”

“Wolves don’t tend to court humans,” says the other wolf. “It happens, for sure, but we mostly keep apart from humans. Say, did you know there was a human in the Schweiden pack?” He looks over Hirugami’s shoulder.

Kuroo’s eyes flash, raking over Hirugami. “No. No, I didn’t.”

Hirugami considers. Something about the pair of them is even more unnerving than any of the other wolves who have visited him yet. A combination of Kuroo’s cunning gaze and the other’s thrumming energy. “That would be because I’m not pack.”

They both stiffen. “Not pack?” they say as one.

He wonders if he has made a mistake to say that. But, no, an unaffiliated human is supposed to be untouchable by wolves if he remembers it right. “Look, I’m kind of on the way to something, if you would kindly move out my path?” He flashes them both his friendliest smile, enjoying the way even Kuroo’s expression wavers for a moment.

“Wait.” The silver haired wolf plants a hand on his chest, solid enough to keep him in place. “We need to speak to Hoshiumi.”

“Then go and speak to him. We’re dating, not telepathic.”

The pair exchange another look.

“What?”

“We can’t enter Musubi territory without making tensions between packs worse but this clinic is on neutral territory.”

Realisation comes rushing in all at once, Hirugami drowning in the undertow. Of course. That explains why he’s been plagued with werewolves since the moment Hoshiumi was taken into his clinic. They can visit the one place where they can trace his scent without facing consequences, and Hirugami, who has spent the past few nights with Hoshiumi rubbing his face up against him in an effort to share scents, is like a walking beacon for Tokyo’s Most Wanted wolf right now. He curses under his breath.

“Okay, well, how about I leave him a message and I’ll see if he feels like getting back to you.” He slips around the hand, moving towards the alley.

“So it’s true, then?” Kuroo’s voice halts him, looking over his shoulder. Those dark eyes pin him in place. “Hoshiumi is courting you? Officially?”

Hirugami is poised on a precipice, knowing that whichever side he chooses to tumble down will have consequences. He thinks of blood-soaked white fur, bright green eyes, and his brother’s shaking hands. “Yes. Yeah, we’re a thing. A werewolf thing.”

Kuroo’s brows arch but before he can ask more questions another shadow falls over the alleyway.

“Sachirou? Are these guys bothering you?”

Standing tall with her hands on her hips is none other than Hirugami Shouko, eyes intense as they fix on the two wolves hounding him. Immediately both back off but their postures are tense, the pair slinking in a way that uncannily resembles wolves in the wild. Shouko marches forward with a grin, grabbing his wrist.

“If you fellas don’t mind, I’ll be taking my brother now. Might I remind you both of the rules about not harming humans?”

Kuroo raises his palms, a picture of faux innocence. “Harm? Were we doing any harm, Bokuto?”

Bokuto mimics his gesture. “We were just asking a few questions, is all.”

“Yeah, well, ask them somewhere else. Kourai-kun isn’t going to be too happy if he finds out you’ve been messing with Sachirou. Come on.”

Shouko tugs him out of the alleyway into the dull wash of grey afternoon light. Crowds of people bustle down the street, completely unaware of the creatures that lurk within the cracks of the city, blissful in their ignorance. For a few seconds Hirugami allows himself to bask in his envy as his sister drags him between the throngs, never slowing the pace for a single moment. Despite her display of ease in the alley, her grip is tight, and he can see the tense line of her jaw as she checks the road before crossing.

It’s outside the pale blue front of an innocuous cafe that she finally stops, letting go of his wrist to reveal a pink line that’s sure to bruise by tomorrow. “This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?”

“Hello to you too, Shouko. It’s so nice to see you. Glad you dropped by.”

She pinches his ear. “I forgot what a pain you are. How does Kourai-kun even put up with you? With his temper I’m surprised he hasn’t murdered you yet.”

“Why do you say that in a tone that implies you think he’s the one who would be justified in that situation?”

She grins at him. “Because I know you. Now, get inside. It’s about time you met the pack.”

“Oh, so now I’m useful you’ll let me meet –”

Hirugami pauses as the door jingles, several heads all snapping to him at once. Fukurou waves at him, Ushijima nodding in greeting with Kageyama stoic at his side. There are several faces he doesn’t recognise but he doesn’t get a chance to contemplate because Hoshiumi is already on his feet, leaning into him and sniffing with a growl. “Musubi again?”

“It’s fine, Kourai-kun,” he says with a pat to his shoulder. “Just a little hello from a Kuroo and a Bokuto.”

“I’ll kill them.”

“No, you won’t.” He nudges him towards his seat, aware of so many gazes watching them. “It’s fine. I confirmed that we were together and that they had no reason to worry about Hinata.”

Sliding into his own chair, Hirugami looks around him and smiles. “Hello, everyone. I am Hirugami Sachirou. I’ll be in your care today.” He fights the urge to laugh at the way they all stare at him, as if they were expecting him to cower in fear.

After a beat of silence, Fukurou laughs. “My brother. Always a little shit.”

Hirugami sticks out his tongue. The silence continues. A thought occurring to him, he leans over and murmurs to Hoshiumi, “Hey, am I doing that whole disrespecting-the-alpha thing again?”

Hoshiumi snorts. “It’s really not that serious.”

That’s good, because Hirugami has never been one to scrimp and scrape towards his brother and he sure as hell isn’t about to start now.

“You’ve already met Kanoka, Ushijima and Kageyama,” Fukurou says. “These guys here are Gao, Romero, Heiwajima and Sokolov.” They each nod.

“Does this mean Sachirou-san will be joining the pack?” asks Ushijima.

Fukurou’s expression blanks for a moment, meeting Hirugami’s gaze. “No. No, this is just a temporary measure, while we attempt to navigate the situation with Kourai and Hinata Shouyou.”

Hoshiumi clinks his glass against the table. “It’s _fine,_ ” he says. “This is so dumb. I only challenged him to a test of strength and he was totally down for it too! Can’t they just speak to him and sort it out?”

Fukurou promptly ignores his outburst. “Since Sachirou is a human he is protected by the accord, so for now it is official that he and Kourai are courting.”

He receives a few curious glances for this. Rather than leaning into his self-consciousness, Hirugami leans back, expression open and at ease. His arm rests over the back of his chair, hand hovering behind Hoshiumi’s back. Maybe he enjoys the way they all look at him as if they’re intimidated by the human, rather than the other way around. Maybe he’s just vindictive because Fukurou is only involving him now that he needs to.

“The full moon is coming up,” says Shouko. “We need to be prepared this time with tensions running high.”

“Musubi aren’t stupid enough to make a move on us when we’re all running together,” says Gao with a scowl, leaning over the table.

Hirugami meets Fukurou’s gaze who gives him a look that says, _I’ll explain later._ But almost immediately Hoshiumi leans in and says in what is not even remotely a whisper, “We have a cabin outside the city for the full moon. Everyone shifts and runs together.”

Hirugami looks at him but Hoshiumi has turned his attention back to the discussion. Apparently he doesn’t see anything strange about this, even if Hirugami is perturbed to know that on a full moon all of Japan’s werewolves are out running through the woods. He shudders at the thought of running into them on accident. No, he’s glad he never knew all those times he went on camping trips with his lab mates during his university years. To think he could have been sleeping with wolves prowling around him is a hair-raising thought.

“Tobio, what was the reaction when you spoke to Hinata? How are Musubi feeling?”

Kageyama’s brows pull together. “Hinata doesn’t care. I think he’d fight Hoshiumi if he could but he’s always been a dumbass, so.” He shrugs. “The rest of the pack are less… content with everything right now. I only spoke to Atsumu, who said that everyone would be watching us to see what we do from here.”

“So, not to be completely ignorant here,” Hirugami pipes up, drawing everyone’s attention again, “but what actually is the deal here? Is this some kind of Romeo and Juliet thing? Kourai-kun and this Hinata guy are in rival packs so they can’t be together?”

“I told you I’m not interested in Shouyou!” Hoshiumi hisses.

“We told you before that a lot of wolves are interested in courting Hinata, right?” Fukurou says.

Hirugami nods.

“But it’s a big political thing, I suppose. For someone with that much interest and from one of the strongest packs in the entire country, whoever Hinata chooses is a big deal, and it usually means he would transfer packs to be with his partner. It’s a common way of fostering alliances.”

“And he can’t join our pack, because…?”

“Historically our packs have been rivals for a long time,” says Sokolov. “It would be unheard of for that kind of offer to be accepted.”

“And it’s not going to happen,” Hoshiumi adds, crossing his arms.

“Even so, we should prepare,” says Kanoka, looking worried. “The full moon is the one time where wolves are unable to control their shift. It will leave us vulnerable.”

Gao snorts. “I think we’ll be fine. I’d like to see any pack try to take us on, even Musubi.”

Even Kageyama and Ushijima, stoic as they are, looking fired up, sitting to attention. Hirugami takes this in with an uneasiness settling into his gut, that there’s a whole lot more to this werewolf business than he could have guessed. It sounds like each of them are prepared for the potential for war, which sounds staggering in comparison to the ordinary humdrum of his life. Moreover, he doesn’t like the determined look shared in both Fukurou and Shouko’s eyes, like they both know what could be coming and are willing to meet it head on.

Hirugami glances at Hoshiumi and finds the same conviction burning in his eyes, too, and he wonders what it would mean for all of them, should this really turn to war.

*

Hoshiumi swings his bag over his shoulder, dressed casually with a cap shielding his features. In his hands is a bento box Hirugami had made him for want of something to do while waiting for his departure. According to Fukurou, shifting takes up a lot of energy which is why wolves eat more than regular humans. In this moment Hoshiumi looks tense, brimming over with restless energy, and Hirugami wonders if it’s the pull of the moon already drawing out his animal instincts.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to drive you?” He’s become paranoid now, always watching around him for signs of prowling wolves.

“Nah, Shouko-san is picking me up. It’s fine.”

“Sure.”

Hirugami hovers at the entrance for a moment as Hoshiumi switches his shoes, wondering if he’s supposed to say something. Do something. The uneasiness hasn’t left him all week, having taken to watching the sky to observe the moon swelling in size each night, prepared for this moment. He’s apprehensive about letting Hoshiumi go, unable to fight back images of him so still upon his metal table, drenched in blood. It makes him glad that he’s not actually part of the pack; he doesn’t think he could handle this every month.

Hoshiumi stands, clothes rustling. Quietly, he examines Hirugami for a moment before he steps forwards, leaning into him. Hirugami catches him by the arms just as he rubs the side of his face against his throat, hair tickling his jaw. This has become shockingly familiar to him in such a short space of time, bowing into Hoshiumi’s warmth as he nuzzles against him and spreads his scent. He really must be touch starved, for it to have such an effect. His fingers curl into firm muscle.

Pulling back, Hoshiumi nods with satisfaction. “Alright, I’m heading off! None of the wolves will disturb you tonight. They’ll all be out running.”

“You’ll be with the rest of the pack, right? You all stick together like this?”

Hoshiumi eyes him. “Yeah, usually.”

Outside a car horn honks and his head lifts. “Looks like that’s Shouko-san. See you later, Sachirou!” And with that he’s out the door and jogging down the stairs, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Hirugami moves to the window, peering through his blinds to see Hoshiumi leap into the back seat of his sister’s car. With a screech of tyres she pulls off into the street, leaving Hirugami to the eerie quiet of his apartment. It’s strange, how suddenly empty it feels without him in it, filling the space with his usual noise and verve. Even watching TV with him is a loud affair, Hoshiumi unable to sit still for more than five minutes at a time and always gracing Hirugami with a steady stream of commentary, usually about how stupid the characters are being. Watching his usual dramas no longer has the same charm now that he’s sitting in silence and he finds he can’t focus on them, too wired with thoughts of the pack.

After an hour and a half of twitching through a few episodes, he grabs his phone with a resigned sigh and sends a message to the group chat, asking if they feel like catching a beer. Two hours after Hoshiumi has left sees him stalking the city streets, one eye on the moon that dominates the sky above, casting everything around him in an unnatural glow. He pauses to stare at it for a moment, swearing that he can hear a distant wolf howl, and then slips into the warmth of the bar. Threading through the clusters of people at tables, he finds Suwa chatting to Kanbayashi and Bessho, waving at the trio in greeting before he orders at the bar.

“Sachirou,” Kanbayashi says as he sits down. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Normally this workaholic is allergic to anything fun,” says Bessho, raising his beer.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles, clinking them together. “I’ve been busy with the clinic. Suwa knows what I mean.”

“It has been pretty hectic lately,” Suwa agrees genially. “Still, it’s nice to get everyone back together for a catch up. I’m glad you suggested it.”

Amidst the chatter and laughter around him, a soft indie rock song filtering in from the overhead speakers, Hirugami is able to shake some of the tension from his limbs and settle into conversation. He distracts himself with silly drinking games, snorting when Bessho tries to guess the name written on the post-it note stuck to his forehead, slurring his words.

“Wait, am I attractive?” he says trying to glance upwards as if he’s miraculously going to be able to read the text, unaware that he’s dripping beer onto his lap. “Am I hot?”

Kanbayashi erupts into laughter. “Not like that, dude.”

Hirugami snorts, glancing down at his phone. No messages is a good sign. He should really just put his phone away but he feels more comfortable having it to hand so he leaves it on the table, joining back in on the conversation.

Bessho catches him. “You’ve been checking your phone a lot tonight. Did you get yourself a girlfriend and not tell us?”

Hirugami freezes as three pairs of eyes turn to him. “What? _No._ I’m not seeing anyone.”

Suwa rubs his chin. “You have been in more of a hurry to go home these days.”

“Oh ho!” exclaims Kabayanshi. “What’s this, then? Do we know who they are? Do you have a picture?”

Before Hirugami can defend his honour a shadow falls over him and he looks up to see two men. One is short with a shock of bright red hair, a troubled expression on his face. The other makes him stiffen, drawing into a scowl at the sight of Atsumu hovering behind the redhead with a particularly sober expression.

“You’re the vet, right?” says the redhead. “Hirugami-san’s brother?” He glances past Hirugami at his friends uncertainly.

Hirugami jerks to his feet. “I need to go,” he says, gut twisting.

“Sachirou –” Suwa begins.

“It’s nothing,” he says, forcing an easy smile for them. “Just some of my brother’s friends. Sorry to cut the night short.”

“It’s fine,” Bessho calls. “We need to get going too, anyway.”

With a brittle wave Hirugami grabs the redhead’s arm and drags him from the bar.

As soon as he steps into the night air Atsumu shoves his way between them, grip tight enough to bruise his wrist. “Let him go,” he growls, eyes flashing.

“Atsumu-san, it’s fine,” the man says, a hand on his shoulder. “We need his help.”

“What is it?” Hirugami says, fighting the dread sinking into him. “What happened?”

“There was a fight,” the man says, brows furrowing. “Hoshiumi-san – he, well, somehow he ended up on Musubi territory and some of our wolves took it as an attack. Hirugami-san came to get him back and it turned into a bit of a brawl.”

Hirugami swears. “Where is he? Where are they?”

“My car’s around the corner,” says Atsumu. “I’ll take you as far as I can get without inciting further fighting.”

“Shit, shit,” he says, already dashing after him. “We need to stop by the clinic so I can get my stuff.”

“Right.” Hirugami has barely shut the door and Atsumu is already flooring the gas, tearing off down the road with a squeal. “Shouyou-kun, can you get through to them?”

Hirugami’s eyes bug. “You’re Shouyou? Hinata Shouyou?”

The man peers at him from the backseat, phone to his ear. “Yes? What of it?”

This is who has the entire of Tokyo’s werewolf community in jeopardy? This is who is at the heart of an interpack war? This short, scrappy looking youth with big, skittery eyes who looks more puppy than wolf? Of all the things he had envisioned Hinata Shouyou to look like, the man staring back at him is not it.

“Clinic,” Atsumu bites out. It’s only then that Hirugami sees the sweat shining on his brow, caught in the glow of moonlight. His jaw is clenching, shoulders hunched, hands white knuckling the steering wheel. They both have to be fighting the shift, he realises, if they’re appearing in human form beneath the full moon.

Hirugami scrambles, glad he keeps his clinic keys on the same holder as his house keys. Dashing through the gloom of the empty clinic, he grabs things and stuffs them into a bag he keeps in a drawer in his office, tossing anything in that might be useful. He’s not sure what he’s about to face but given the state of Hoshiumi that day he can only guess. His footsteps pound against linoleum as he exits with his bag weighing him down, locking up and tossing himself into Atsumu’s car.

The colours of Tokyo’s city streets blur as Atsumu races through them, snaking his way out of the urban sprawl and towards the woodland beyond. It takes far too long for Hirugami’s liking, his fingers digging into his thighs. He counts the time in songs that play from the radio, telling himself not to picture the scene and doing it anyway, blood running in front of his eyes. Why, he wonders, was Hoshiumi so stupid and reckless as to wander into Musubi territory?

Atsumu veers off the road onto a dirt track through scraps of woodland that grows thicker and thicker until they’re deep into a forest with only a thin sliver of moonlight piercing through the trees. The sweat is dripping off Atsumu, his arms straining against the wheel as he drives, and at some point Hinata leans forward between them murmuring soothing words into his ears. Hirugami thinks he hears, “Doing good,” and, “you’re strong, Atsumu-san.”

Suddenly Atsumu jerks to a stop, right before a wooden campsite sign that has grown over with mould and moss. “This is as far as I can take you,” he says, breathing hard. “You need to follow the track for another half mile and you’ll come to a cabin. If I go any closer then we might as well all just kill each other now.”

Hirugami throws himself out the door, only ducking his head back in to say a hurried, “Thank you.” Then he’s running off into the dark, the car’s headlights blinding behind him. He hears growls and picks up his pace. While he thinks that maybe Atsumu’s not such a bastard after all, he still doesn’t trust his control under a full moon when Hirugami smells like his enemy.

The air is cool, branches catching on his clothes as he stumbles through the darkness with his bag slapping against his side. Hirugami goes jogging enough to have the stamina to run so there’s no explanation for how winded he is, lungs burning. He’s been breathless all evening and the fear making his heart pound in his chest isn’t helping. By the time he spots the outline of the cabin in the trickle of moonlight he’s drenched in his own sweat and shivering, swallowing back his own fear as he approaches.

Before he can touch the door Ushijima and Kageyama appear, eyes gleaming in the darkness. “I’m here,” he gasps. “Where are they? What –”

Ushijima moves aside and he stumbles through into a simple log cabin. Lying on the floor is a large, dark brown wolf, draped in a blanket, and even though Hirugami has never truly seen his brother as a wolf he knows. He _knows._ Falling to his knees, he shudders out a gasp when Fukurou whimpers, tail thumping against the ground. Blood shines on a ragged wound across the line of his shoulder, soaking into the fur around it. There are bite marks on his hind legs, scratches on his muzzle. Part of his ear has been bitten off.

“Sachirou.” Hoshiumi crashes down beside him. Hirugami can hardly see him in the gloom but the tears in his eyes shine silver in the moonbeam through the window. “Sachirou, you need to help him. It’s my fault – I –”

“ _Shh,_ ” he says, a hand landing on his nape and stroking. Almost at once Hoshiumi stills.

A practised calm washes over him like a wave rolling into the shore. Hirugami lines his tools out on the floor, cleaning his hands with rubbing alcohol and sterilising his needle. Fukurou whines when he wipes down the wound and he brushes down his head, murmuring that he’s going to be okay. With steady hands he stitches up the wound, taking care with the ragged flesh. Once he’s done he treats the other wounds, cleaning them down and bandaging them. He injects a solution into his neck, watching Fukurou’s eyes flutter as the pain fades. He can hardly believe he’s here, with his brother lying so still in front of him, in his wolf form.

The other wolves stay outside as if knowing to give him space but Hoshiumi remains, too still beside him. Hirugami sweeps his hair from his head and sinks back on his haunches, taking him in. It’s then that he notices blood glistening on his thigh, a hand grabbing his knee to still it.

“You were injured too.”

“I’m fine,” Hoshiumi says, but it lacks his usual petulance. “It will heal.”

“Take them down,” he says, hands already in the waistband of his joggers.

Hoshiumi utters a noise of protest but lets him pull them down so he can inspect the wound. A deep gouge has been slashed into the muscle of his thigh and it’s still leaking blood. He really should stitch it but if Hoshiumi heals as quickly as he did before then there’s likely no point. Instead he cleans it down with antiseptic wipes, Hoshiumi gasping into the stillness of the room as he sweeps away the crusted blood, his other hand cradling his head.

“Are you okay?”

Hoshiumi draws back, brows drawing together. “You’re asking _me_ if _I’m_ okay?”

Hirugami manages an empty chuckle, bandaging his thigh up even as blood starts to seep through and knots it tight. Exhausted, emotions wrung dry, he lets his head fall over until it lands on Hoshiumi’s shoulder and presses his face into his neck. Breathing in the musky scent of him, he lets it soothe him. A hand lands in his hair, fingers combing through it.

“He’ll be okay,” Hoshiumi says. “Fukurou-san is strong.”

“I know.”

The nails scratching against his scalp elicit a sigh from him. “I’ll get them back for this. They’ll pay for what they did.”

Hirugami sits up, meeting his gaze. “No, you won’t.”

Hoshiumi blinks, cocking his head.

“You’re not going to turn this into some ugly cycle of revenge. It’s exactly this line of thinking that has led to all of this mess. If you hit back it will only cause more needless pain and misery.”

“Are you crazy? Look at what they did to Fukurou-san!”

“I know! Do you think I’m not upset? Do you think I’m not fucking furious that someone could do this to my brother?” He shakes his head, hands clenching at his sides. “I don’t want to live like this, Kourai-kun. I don’t to live with this constant threat over my shoulder. This constant fear that I’m going to get a call to tell me that one of you is dead.”

Hirugami rises to his feet, ignoring Hoshiumi’s protests. “You might have wolf instincts but you’re still human. You can’t cave to the violence.”

With that he exits the cabin into the dark of the night. Bright eyes blink back at him from the trees and he freezes for a moment before realising it is likely members of the pack watching over their leader. He sinks onto the porch steps, head in his hands. His temples throb and all he can think about is how much easier it was when he didn’t know what being part of a wolf pack was like. It’s too late to take it back now, but even so, he hates feeling so useless. So helpless in the face of his brother’s pain.

“Sachirou.”

Stalking towards him is none other than his sister, her eyes blazing in the moonlight. Red is streaked around her mouth. It turns his stomach.

“Shouko,” he says. “Fukurou is inside. He’s stable now. He’ll be okay.”

She releases a rumbling growl before she drops down next to him, her long hair wild around her face and strewn with twigs and leaves. Quiet settles between them for a while, nothing but the rustle of wind through the trees and the sound of breathing to disturb the silence. Somewhere far away a wolf howls. Hirugami shivers.

Shouko leans over, sniffing. “You smell like Musubi.”

Hirugami leans back on his hands. “Atsumu and Hinata brought me here.”

The rumble of her growl vibrates through him.

“Don’t you think it’s time to give this up? All of this fighting, what’s it really for?”

She blinks at him, eyes incandescent. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Because I’m not a wolf? Because I’m not one of you?”

It’s said without any heat but Shouko still flinches. “Sachirou…”

Hirugami stands again, stretching out. His neck cracks when he rolls it and he grimaces, limbs heavy. More than anything he needs sleep but he’s too wired to have any chance of falling asleep now. “He could have died, Shouko,” he says slowly, “and for what?”

She has no answer for him. Instead she looks down at her hands, claws protruding from her fingertips. Her long hair gleams in the moonlight.

It’s as he’s about to reenter the cabin that a gunshot cracks through the silence, birds startling from the trees. Hirugami flinches, spinning on his heel. Shouko is on her feet in an instant, scanning the trees, every line of her body tensed up. Already the hair is growing across her arms, muscles shifting as bones crack.

“Shouko, what was that?”

“Go inside,” she commands in a low, vibrating voice. When she turns his sister’s face is half-human, half-wolf. It silences him. “I’m going to check the pack. Make sure that Fukurou’s okay.”

And there’s nothing Hirugami can do, nothing he can say, so he has to watch his sister bolt for the trees, leaping onto all fours as her body completes the shift into wolf. Then she’s gone, swallowed up by the darkness and the oppressive weight of his fear. He’s already had to stitch his brother up tonight; he doesn’t think he can bear anything happening to his sister.

_Please be okay,_ he thinks as he returns to the gloom of the cabin. _Please._

*

Warm fingers of light across his face stir Hirugami from sleep. It takes him a moment to register where he is and when he does he’s faced with the dull throb in his back from having fallen asleep sitting up and leaning against the wall. With a groan he stretches out, wincing at the lack of feeling in his legs. Across the floor Fukurou lies on the blankets that have been placed out beneath him, returned to his human form. The light glances over the bruises on his face, mottled and dark. His chest rises and falls in steady breaths. A cursory examination reveals that his wound is healing.

Ducking outside, Hirugami finds Hoshiumi sitting where he sat the night before, gazing out into the forest. Golden light illuminates his pale hair, his eyes glowing like cut peridot in the sun. His face is all hard angles, jaw wired tight enough to snap, his fingers worrying at a fraying thread on his shirt. He doesn’t turn when Hirugami drops down beside him. Doesn’t even utter a sound.

The sun glimmers at the top of the pointed line of tree tops, spilling over and forcing him to shield his eyes. Birds chirp and chatter, far too cheerful for the sombre mood that sits between them. Hirugami thinks that Hoshiumi feels most predatory like this, unnaturally quiet with every muscle poised for action.

“You don’t have to stay,” Hoshiumi says finally, still staring out at the trees.

Hirugami says nothing. It’s chilly at this time in the morning and he shivers, goosebumps forming on his bare arms.

“You’re not a wolf. You’re not obligated to go through this with us.” Green eyes flicker to him for a moment, brows curling. “No one’s going to judge you if you walk away.”

He’s silent for a while longer, thinking. “Nah,” he says at last, smiling down at Hoshiumi. “Think I’m going to stick around. You’ll all get yourselves killed if I don’t.”

This earns him a full on stare, Hoshiumi squinting at him in the early morning light. “It could get dangerous.”

“Mm. So I’ve gathered.”

This only seems to piss Hoshiumi off even further. He crashes his shoulder against Hirugami’s, strong enough to knock him off balance. “Stop with the creepy grin. It doesn’t suit you.”

“No? I’ve been told I’m very handsome when I smile.”

Hoshiumi huffs.

It’s at that moment that Shouko appears, wrapped in nothing but an oversized flannel shirt. Behind her appears Ushijima and Kageyama, the pair naked but unashamed. Hirugami supposes that when you’re a wall of rippling muscle like that then it’s not hard to imagine why. He stands as Shouko approaches, searching her face.

“We’re fine, Sachirou,” she says, a hand on his shoulder as she passes into the cabin.

“The gunshot?”

Ushijima turns back to the trees. “Hunters sometimes come to these woods.”

“I smelled humans,” Kageyama confirms.

“Hunters? Like, normal hunters or…”

“Werewolf hunters,” says Hoshiumi, expression defiant.

Hirugami’s stares at him in horror. “You mean people hunt you? Even though they know you’re human?”

“They don’t care,” Kageyama says as he moves into the cabin.

Ushijima nods. His expression doesn’t change but there’s a sadness in his eyes. “To some we are not human.” Then he too disappears through the door.

Hirugami turns on Hoshiumi. “You know this and you still run the woods?”

Hoshiumi shrugs. “It can’t be helped during the full moon. It’s a compulsion.”

They’re all so complacent about it that it’s frightening. Hirugami follows them into the cabin, wondering why none of them are freaking out. Shouldn’t they be more concerned? His eyes meet Shouko’s from across the room and he shoots her a look that says, _we are going to have words about this later._

Shouko grimaces but nods.

*

Hirugami plants two hands on Fukurou’s shoulders and pushes him back onto the couch, giving him a firm look. “Stay still. I know you have extra special werewolf healing but you still need to rest.”

Glasses clink from the kitchen. “Please drum it into him, will you?” Kanoka calls. “He keeps trying to move around even though it’s clearly painful.”

“You should really go to the hospital and get your wounds checked,” Hirugami adds. “I’m not actually a doctor.”

Fukurou shakes his head, still pale. The bruises on his face are starker in the bright light of day. “I’m fine. The wounds have sealed already and the stitches are out. I don’t want to draw any attention to myself right now if there are hunters out there.”

Kanoka carries two steaming mugs of coffee into the living room and places them down on the table. She scrubs a hand through Fukurou’s hair, inspecting his face with careful eyes before grabbing her bag. “I’m going to go and pick up more painkillers,” she says. “I’ll be back soon.”

Hirugami swipes up his coffee and sips from it gratefully. He’d had to phone in and take a day’s leave today, to make sure his brother got home safely and without further incident. Now they’re alone in Fukurou’s apartment, the rest of the pack scattered back to their daily lives upon their alpha’s insistence that, no, he’s perfectly fine and they don’t need to worry. Hirugami’s sure they’re all taking that line about as well as he is.

“What happened out there?” he says, watching the steam from his mug curl into the air. “How did it end up so bad?”

Fukurou frowns into his coffee as if it holds the answers. “It was Kourai. He went off course during the night. Ended up in the wrong territory – Musubi territory – and during the strongest pull of the full moon. It was chaos. Even if the Musubi wolves had wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, they wouldn’t have been able to fight their instincts to defend under its influence. Our wolves are strongest then.”

Hirugami considers this. “I thought Kourai-kun was in control. You said he was one of the strongest wolves you knew.”

“He is. He has a command over his shift others seldom do and he’s a better fighter than wolves double his size. It’s… he was heading towards the city, Sachirou.” Fukurou looks up, meets his gaze through blackened eyes. “I think he was heading for you.”

He nearly falls from his seat. “What? Why would he head for me?”

“He smelled strongly of you last night.” Hirugami gulps his coffee, thinking of Hoshiumi pressing into his neck. “It might be that it messed with his senses when under the shift.”

“Something tells me you’re not so sure about that.”

Fukurou shrugs and then winces, a hand on his side. “Like I said, generally Hoshiumi is in good control of himself even when under the full moon, but circumstances are different. Tensions are high and he’s been staying with you.”

Considering the coffee in his hands, Hirugami’s throat is oddly dry. “I should probably go and check on him. He was injured too.”

He grabs his jacket, returning their mugs to the kitchen and rinsing them out so his brother won’t have an excuse to get up from the couch. The more he rests the faster he’ll heal and then Hirugami won’t have to deal with the knot of guilt in his gut every time he looks over the bruises and cuts marring Fukurou’s skin. He could have lost his brother last night; a thought that has plagued him all day.

“Sachirou,” Fukurou calls as he’s pulling on his shoes. “you’re good for him, you know. He can be difficult to deal with sometimes but you seem to understand him.”

Hirugami pauses, parsing out what he means. “I really don’t think it’s that complicated.”

But as he steps out into the street to the hustle and bustle of the city crowds he finds that he’s not quite so sure about that statement.

*

Hirugami hates how quiet his apartment is that night. “Let’s go out to eat,” he says, the silence itching beneath his skin. “My treat.”

Hoshiumi eyes him warily but grabs his jacket, not even curious enough to ask where they’re going. In truth Hirugami isn’t sure, wandering his neighbourhood until he finds an okonomiyaki place that looks decent, grabbing Hoshiumi’s wrist and dragging him inside. They find a table and order a bunch of ingredients, Hirugami slapping them together on the teppan and hoping for the best. Soon Hoshiumi seems to warm up, pointing out his mistakes, or grimacing at his choice to combine shrimp, pork belly and a copious amount of spinach.

“You make that face but I bet it smells good.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Hirugami spreads his palm out, waiting for Hoshiumi to gather some of the pancake with his chopsticks and stuff it in his cheeks, still scowling as he chews. Unable to fight his smile, Hirugami leans on his hand and watches as he swallows and then sighs before reaching out to take more. Hirugami pinches his hand with his own chopsticks, raising his brows.

“You can’t have any more until you say it’s good.”

Hoshiumi narrows his eyes. “It’s okay.”

“Nuh uh. I’m going to eat it all.” He pops a piece into his own mouth, humming pleasantly at the taste.

“Fine! Fine, it’s good,” Hoshiumi says with the tone of someone agreeing to have their teeth plucked out, and then he’s battling Hirugami for more.

Once they’ve eaten their fill Hirugami sits back and sips at his beer, surveying Hoshiumi. Fukurou’s words run through his mind, just as they have since he first heard them. _I think he was heading for you._ Despite his brother’s assertions he can’t really picture it. It’s not like Hoshiumi even likes him, really. They’re just spending time together since they need to appear like they’re dating, the pretence more important than ever given the fight the previous night. He’s not sure what to make of the notion anyway; isn’t sure if it would mean anything if Hoshiumi _was_ coming for him.

“You have a weird look on your face,” Hoshiumi grouses.

“Oh, sorry that my face offends you,” he says, poking at his cheek. “It’s the only one I’ve got.”

“You’re really annoying.”

“Says you.”

Hoshiumi huffs, crossing his arms on the table. There’s something charming about him, Hirugami supposes. Something in the way he lets every emotion ripple across his face without trying to suppress it, completely unapologetic. Something in the way he’s so comfortable in his own skin. In the way he laughs louder; scowls harder; fights rougher than anyone around him. Hirugami doesn’t think he’s ever met someone so unafraid of life at large, as if it’s just another thing Hoshiumi can bend to his will. It wouldn’t surprise him.

“I met him, by the way,” he says, sly. “Your Hinata Shouyou.”

“He’s not my – wait, you did?”

Hirugami nods. “He brought me to you two last night. Think he felt guilty about what happened.”

Hoshiumi looks down, picking at his thumb. For a moment he looks deeply troubled, shoulders drawn tight. “It’s not his fault, all of this.”

“Don’t tell me _you’re_ feeling guilty. Doesn’t really suit you.”

“But it is! Fukurou-san was the one who had to pull me out of enemy territory.”

“Mm. Well, you’re both fine now so let’s just forget about it, yeah?”

Hoshiumi looks like he’s going to say more but his eyes dart to the side as a man approaches. Hirugami’s eyes widen as he sees Suwa with his girlfriend, waving back out of reflex more than greeting. He doesn’t have a cover explanation thought up yet as to why he suddenly took the day off and he’s all too aware of how it must look, tiny table tucked into the corner, cozy lighting and all. Cursing himself for forgetting that Suwa lives near him, he plasters a smile on his face.

“Hey, guys. Nice to see you again, Hana-san.”

She nods, a dainty smile on her lips. “It’s been a while, Hirugami-san.”

Suwa tries not to look too curiously at Hoshiumi but he must be surprised; Hirugami’s not known for having many friends and he’s never seen Hoshiumi before. “I’ll leave you to your dinner,” he says, passing by and Hirugami knows he’s going to have to deal with that later.

“Friends of yours?” Hoshiumi asks, craning his neck.

“Yeah, something like that. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

That night they watch TV until midnight, despite the fact that Hirugami is exhausted from a lack of sleep and has to get up early the next morning. Something stops him from moving, maybe the lingering dread that he’ll dream his fears of his brother dying in front of him. Just as he’s about to cave to his drooping eyelids, Hoshiumi finally unfolds himself from his position beside him and crawls over Hirugami until he’s snug on his lap, peering into his eyes. Despite himself he feels his heart begin to race at the proximity, the question on the tip of his tongue. _Were you coming for me?_

Instead he sits still as Hoshiumi noses across his neck, his hands hovering just over Hoshiumi’s hips but unwilling to commit to the touch. The heat of him burning through their clothes is excruciating, Hirugami’s eyelids fluttering and his fingers curling into the material of his couch as Hoshiumi keeps wriggling, the skim of his fingertips against his bare arms enough to make the hair there stand on end. He’s not sure anymore, whether this is his own lack of touch thing, or whether this is a Hoshiumi thing, or whether it’s both at once, but all he knows is it’s starting to become _something_. He also knows that if Hoshiumi moves any further forward he’s going to find the evidence of his own stirring arousal. Before he can he grabs Hoshiumi’s shoulders and shoves him over onto the cushions, leaning over him.

Hoshiumi tilts his head, evening light reflecting in his irises. His thigh is still in the air, warm against Hirugami’s waist. “What are you doing?” he says, like Hirugami is the one behaving oddly.

Hirugami stares down at him, committing every line of him to memory, surveying the stripes of honeyed light across his face from the blinds. His heart is thumping, blood singing, and he kind of wants to trace the definition of Hoshiumi’s thighs to confirm just how strong they are. His fingers twitch, hand sliding to his knee. Seeing him so pliant and still beneath him is as strange as it is exhilarating, dizzying his mind until he can think of nothing but warm skin pressed to his.

“Sachirou?”

“I need some damn sleep,” he says, pulling himself up by the back of the couch and mourning the loss of warmth. He races away to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, and leans against it with a sigh.

Maybe it takes him a little longer than it should to sleep that night. Maybe he thinks about Hoshiumi sprawled out beneath him on the couch, city lights in his eyes and hair like liquid silver. Maybe he thinks this whole thing was a horrible idea but he’s in too deep to get out and it’s just like how Fukurou warned him not to get involved in the first place. Fuck Fukurou. Hirugami hates when his brother is right.

At least he doesn’t dream about his brother dying that night but he’s not sure the alternative is any better.

*

He dreads the moment the clinic finally falls quiet, Suwa seeing out their last patient for the evening with a warm smile before he returns to the room with the broom in his hand. Hirugami focuses on cleaning down the table, his back to him as he awaits his fate. The moment Suwa clears his throat he flinches, banging his knee against the table.

“So, did you enjoy your dinner last night?”

It’s so unbearably awkward. Hirugami eyes his shiny scalpel, thinking about how easy it would be to get himself out of this conversation. “Mm,” he says, “good food and all that.”

Suwa pauses. “I haven’t seen that guy around before.”

Hirugami makes a show of consulting their shared computer, logging details of the last patient in their file. “You wouldn’t have. We haven’t known each other that long.”

“But you’re going out to dinner with him?” When he looks over his shoulder, Suwa is grinning at him. “Anything I should know?”

“Nope.”

“Dude, I don’t want this to be like… I don’t want you to think you can’t tell me things.”

Hirugami narrows his eyes at him. “Like what?”

“Like, you know. The kinds of people you might be interested in dating.”

Hirugami snorts at the way Suwa is resolutely avoiding his eyes, sweeping at the same patch of linoleum. “Sorry, didn’t think my latent bisexuality made for a particularly casual conversation starter.”

“Well, no,” Suwa concedes. “But for what it’s worth… I just want you to know it’s okay. The guys aren’t going to, like, judge you or anything.”

“Gee, thanks. I’m positively glowing from that seal of approval.”

Suwa laughs. “Oh, alright. Be that way. But I mean it all the same.”

When Hirugami smiles it’s a rare, genuine smile with feeling. “Thanks, Aikichi. I appreciate it.”

*

Despite being on edge the whole time, the next few weeks pass without incident. Fukurou recovers and only keeps in minimal contact, usually short one line texts to tell Hirugami he’s fine. Days pass by in the hectic whirlwind that is the Kamomedai clinic, treating dog after cat after parrot after tortoise to the strange day that someone brings an axolotl into the examination room. Hoshiumi continues to sleep on his couch most nights, finishing each evening by rubbing himself up against Hirugami to pass on his scent. It’s starting to drive him crazy.

“Thanks for covering this afternoon,” Suwa says as he slips on his jacket. It’s his anniversary with his girlfriend and they’re going out together so Hirugami has agreed to cover.

“I owed you one anyway,” he says, waving him off. “Have a nice time!”

The rest of the afternoon is even busier than normal trying to fit in double the amount of patients and by the time the evening draws to a close he’s exhausted, eyelids drooping where he stands. Hirugami wants nothing more than to go home and pass out on the couch but he forces himself through cleaning, trying to remember if there’s anything in the fridge for dinner.

The distant thumping of a fist against the door startles him and he swears as he thumps his foot against the table. With the sinking sensation of another impending crisis he stomps out to the reception, calling out, “Alright, alright! I’m coming.”

Twisting the bolt, he jumps back as several people pour in all at once, tense as he recognises each of them as wolves of Musubi. “Hey, wait a minute!” he says, images of his brother’s bruised face in his mind. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Hinata steps up into his space, all humour stripped from his face as he growls, eyes flashing. It’s the first time he’s truly looked the predator that he is. “We brought you to Hirugami-san last time,” he says. “Atsumu-san helped you.”

Hirugami’s gaze flicks past him to a wailing Atsumu supported between Bokuto and Sakusa. “Jesus, fuck, that hurts!”

“You do know I’m not a doctor, right?” he says, already following them into the examination room as Bokuto and Sakusa lift a pale, sweating Atsumu onto the table. Blood has soaked into his jeans, a hole ripped into the fabric. A bullet wound, he thinks, stomach flipping.

“Alright,” he says, slipping back into vet mode as he reaches for his equipment. “Are you able to take those off or do I need to cut them?”

Atsumu blinks at him for a moment. If he’s losing consciousness that’s not good. “Think yer gonna have to cut ‘em, doc.”

“I’m not a doctor,” Hirugami says, taking the scissors and pushing his way through the wolves gathered around him. “The rest of you get out. I can’t work with you all hovering like this.”

None of them move.

“Now!” he barks, levelling them all with a look. “You’re lucky I haven’t kicked you all out of here after what you did to Fukurou. Get out of my goddamn way or I’m going to let him bleed out right here.”

Bokuto is the first to back off, Sakusa slinking after him towards the door. Hinata remains, brown eyes defiant as he refuses to budge an inch. “I’m not leaving him,” he says, taking Atsumu’s hand and squeezing. “Touch between pack members helps us heal properly.”

Hirugami looks between them for a moment, Atsumu flashing him an apologetic smile between gritted teeth. With a sigh he flaps his hand, nudging Hinata over a few steps. “Just keep out of my way. I’m not used to operating on humans and quite frankly I could lose my licence for this.”

He has to cut away Atsumu’s jeans to get to the wound on his upper thigh, a neat bullet hole in the flesh. “Hold onto something, this might hurt,” he says, digging into the wound with tweezers until he finds the flattened piece of metal and pries it out, Atsumu slurring out a mash of so many swear words Hirugami’s not even sure he’s heard them all.

“It’s okay,” Hinata says, keeping hold of his hand. “The bullet’s out now.”

“Are you still healing okay?” Hirugami says as he wipes down the blood. “I don’t want to give you stitches if you’re going to heal without them.”

Atsumu still looks pained, breathing heavily through his nose. “Should be fine now, yeah. Got something for the pain? Fucking hurts like hell.”

Hirugami rummages in his glass cabinet and produces some tablets which Atsumu dry swallows, sagging against the table as if he longer has the strength to hold himself up. While he’s still conscious and pliant enough to be manhandled, Hirugami presses a thick padding over the wound and bandages it up, hoping that his werewolf healing will kick in quickly now that he’s removed the bullet.

“What happened?” he says as he washes the blood from himself, giving the pair some space as Hinata supports Atsumu’s weight against him.

“Hunters,” Atsumu grunts. “We were out, running off some restless energy. Helps sometimes, y’know? Wasn’t expecting them to be out halfway through the moon cycle, bastards.”

Hirugami leans against the counter. “Has this always been a problem? Surely they would be arrested for shooting at you in cold blood like that.”

“No way to prove it. They’d claim they shot at an animal and we couldn’t refute it without proving the existence of werewolves. Given how some people react…” Atsumu shakes his head. “It fucks us over, but what can we really do?”

“There must be something.”

From Hinata’s scowling expression he clearly agrees. Hirugami can’t help but notice that his hand has never left Atsumu’s the entire time.

There’s a clatter from out in reception followed by raised voices and before Hirugami can brace himself Hoshiumi bowls into the room, eyes blazing. “Sachirou! Sachirou, you’re okay?” He grabs his arm and hauls him down as if he doesn’t quite believe it, eyes roaming his body as if to check for injury.

“I’m fine,” he says, smiling to prove it. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You didn’t come home on time,” Hoshiumi says, poking him in the shoulder. “Then when I came to check the clinic I smelled Musubi wolves and I thought –”

Hirugami is almost a little flattered that Hoshiumi had been so concerned. “Everything is okay,” he says, patting him on the cheek. He looks up to where Hinata is trying to support Atsumu as he lowers himself to the ground. “You really shouldn’t move him until it’s started to heal.”

“Shouyou,” says Hoshiumi, pointing at him. “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you yet.”

Hinata droops. “Hey, that wasn’t my fault! It was everyone else blowing it out of proportion.”

“You can make it up to me by fighting me once this is all over.”

Hinata grins. “You’re on!”

Hirugami sighs, pinching his nose. “Is now really the time for this?”

Hoshiumi looks at him. “When else am I going to get the time to talk to Shouyou?”

Hirugami meets Atsumu’s gaze over their heads and wonders when he started feeling some measure of sympathy with the guy.

*

By the time they get back to Hirugami’s apartment it’s nearing ten o’clock and his body feels like a lead weight that he’s dragging along with him. When Hoshiumi drops onto the couch Hirugami flops over him, ignoring his squawk of protest, and rests his head on his shoulder. His natural heat seeps into him, the musky scent both familiar and comforting, and he thinks that maybe it’s not just wolves who take comfort from scenting. His lids droop and then close, feeling Hoshiumi’s chest rise and fall beneath him.

“Hey, don’t go to sleep!” Hoshiumi grumbles, poking a finger into his cheek.

“Mm. Too comfy.”

He wriggles. “I’m not a cushion!”

Hirugami doesn’t budge, already starting to drift. “Can’t move. Too tired.”

“At least go to bed. This is where I sleep.”

“Carry me, then.”

He says it as a joke, expecting to elicit more protest from Hoshiumi. What he does not expect is for his stomach to swoop as he’s hoisted into the air, the room spinning. Blinking into full consciousness, he realises that Hoshiumi has picked him up bridal style, his legs dangling over his arm. The next thing he knows he’s been thrown onto his bed, bouncing on the mattress. Hoshiumi grabs his shoes and hauls them off, flinging them to the other side of the room. Hirugami winces as he hears one bang against the wall but he’s too worn out to care.

Hoshiumi steps back as if to leave but Hirugami grabs him by the wrist, stilling him in place. “Aren’t you going to take the rest of my clothes off?” he says, waggling his brows.

“Do it yourself!”

Hoshiumi tries to pull away but Hirugami yanks him in until he’s crashing into the bed, arms and legs flying as he yells. Tugging him into the middle of the bed, Hirugami curls around him, seeking out the heat of his body. In the morning he’ll likely be embarrassed about his behaviour but right now all he wants is the comfort of his warmth pressed against him.

“Sleep here tonight,” he mumbles, eyes closing. His nose is pressed to Hoshiumi’s hair.

Hoshiumi releases a garbled string of noises, wriggling in his hold. Hirugami only grips him tighter, not allowing him to spin around. After a few moments he seems to settle down but he still feels tense beneath his hands so he runs a thumb over his side in circles, feeling Hoshiumi shiver beneath him.

“You’ve gone crazy. I’m going to tell your brother you’ve gone off the deep end.”

“Mm.”

“You stink. You smell like enemy wolves.”

“Guess you’ll have to fix that then, won’t you?”

Hoshiumi makes another strangled noise but Hirugami is already halfway to sleep, the sights and sounds of his bedroom fading out for the press of cotton inside his skull. It’s been too much all too fast, every new thing he’s discovered about this secret world he never knew, and he’s tapped out. The softness of his pillows and the burn of Hoshimi’s skin through his shirt lulls him all the way into unconsciousness. When he falls asleep he’s gone completely, so deep under an earthquake couldn’t shake him awake.

*

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Shouko says, perched on the arm of Fukurou’s armchair. With the whole pack squashed into his apartment, it looks far smaller than it actually is. There are wolves everywhere, sprawled on the floor, on dining chairs that have been pulled into the living room, across the couch. “After what they did, can we really trust them?”

“It’s as much our fault for being on their territory,” Fukurou says, Hoshiumi tensing. His gaze turns to Hirugami’s. “Besides, I’d rather end this war before it can begin. We have a common enemy, so it’s better if we can help one another with this.”

“I still don’t think we should be making deals with them,” Gao says from the floor, wrinkling his nose. “They’ll turn on us the minute our backs are turned.”

“It would be wise to at least hear what they have to say,” Ushijima says. “We do not have to agree to anything yet.”

“Wakatoshi is right,” Fukurou says. “Let’s not make any judgements before we hear everything. Don’t forget that it could have been any of you who got shot.”

They don’t get the chance to argue about it any further because a knock comes at the door, everyone in the room freezing. Hirugami looks around, sighs, and then pushes himself up from the floor. He’s going to be the sole reason for werewolf peace, he swears, and he bets he’ll get no thanks for it, either. So he opens the door, rearranges his features into his magazine smile, and greets the men at the door.

“Good afternoon,” says the man at the front, broad-shouldered and imposing with jet black hair. Meian Shuugo, he thinks. “Thank you for agreeing to hear us out.”

Hirugami shrugs. “Should probably say that to Fukurou, seeing as he’s the one you mauled last time.”

The wolves behind him stiffen, atmosphere going taut in a matter of moments. Hirugami merely gazes back at Meian with an arched brow, feeling the weight of Fukurou’s eyes boring into his back. Sure, he’s all too happy to prevent pack war, but he’s not going to take his brother being injured lying down.

Suddenly laughter erupts from out in the hall, Kuroo shouldering his way past Meian to clap him on the shoulder. “Knew I liked you for a reason,” he says before going to find a seat.

The other two wolves seem to relax at this, a staggeringly tall foreigner by the name of Thomas, and a short ashen haired man called Inunaki. They step carefully into the room and find space on the floor, Meian taking a dining chair that has been left out for him, opposite Fukurou. He surveys the room with ease despite being surrounded by an enemy pack and even Hirugami admires his fearlessness. He can see the alpha in him, steady and dependable. There’s no trace of anger in his eyes, to his relief. Meian is not here to fight.

“On behalf of the Musubi pack,” Meian begins, “I want to apologise for what happened at the last full moon. And for the attack on Hoshiumi Kourai. Neither should have happened.”

Fukurou nods his head. “We are at fault too, for Kourai being in the wrong territory during the full moon. We should probably also clarify that he was neither trying to attack Hinata, nor court him.”

Meian’s expression pinches. “Yes, I believe that matter is quite settled now.”

Hirugami thinks of Hinata refusing to leave Atsumu’s side and smirks to himself, earning himself a glance from Hoshiumi who is squashed between Ushijima and Kageyama on the couch. Meeting his gaze, he waggles his brows at him and then stifles a laugh behind his hand when Hoshiumi narrows his eyes. In the end he hears little of the actual terms that get ironed out between the pack leaders, too busy distracting Hoshiumi who plays right into his hands. By the time that most of the pack has filtered out of the apartment, Fukurou still deep in discussion with Meian at the door, Hoshiumi is brimming with energy, his knees bouncing.

“Why were you laughing?” he says, following when Hirugami slips to the kitchen to get water.

“Ah, you know.” He waves his hand. “Hinata’s kind of out of the running now, huh? Not much good for a political alliance if he’s going to be staying with his own pack.”

Hoshiumi tilts his head, frowning.

Hirugami sips from his glass. “Otherwise I’m sure the pair of them would have tried to marry you off to him.”

“I told you!” Hoshiumi shouts, leaping at him. “I’m not interested in Shouyou!”

He almost crashes into Kageyama running around the apartment, choking on his laughter as Hoshiumi growls and chases after him. Eventually they trip one another up and end up in a heap on the floor, Hirugami winded but too happy to care. It’s strange, but even though they’ve just stopped one war by signing up for another one, he doesn’t feel as apprehensive as he thought he would. _This is my pack,_ he thinks. Even if he’s not a wolf – even if he doesn’t want to be one – he’s with his family. His relationship with his siblings is probably better than it’s ever been.

Hoshiumi fixes him with his green eyes. “You’re smiling. It’s creepy.”

Hirugami just laughs, hands feeling the vibrations from his stomach. When was the last time he laughed? Truly laughed? He can’t remember. “Maybe I want to smile, Kourai-kun.”

“ _Hmm._ ”

Later, once it’s just him and Fukurou left, Hirugami examines his brother’s wounds to make sure that he’s healing properly, still marvelling at just how quickly the pink scars are fading into his skin. “That’s amazing, you know. Still blows my mind.”

“Yeah,” Fukurou says as he tugs his shirt back on. “It’s pretty neat.”

Hirugami stands to leave but Fukurou pulls him back down onto the couch. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you properly but things have been so hectic lately I haven’t found the time. How are you coping with all of this? I feel like you’ve been dragged into all this mess and it’s all my fault.”

Hirugami huffs, smiling as he shakes his head. “You know, when I was younger I could never understand why you didn’t want me to know. I thought – well, I don’t know. You and Shouko had this secret and I was always on the periphery of it, always outside looking in.” Fukurou looks sheepish but he waves him away. “You can’t really make me do anything I don’t want to, you know. I’m here because I want to be with my family.”

Fukurou is quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry, Sachirou. I wanted to protect you from all this danger so much that I never thought –”

“It’s done now. Let’s not dwell on it, yeah?”

“You have a deal.” Fukurou smiles as they shake hands. “By the way, I meant to say. Meian tells me that Hinata has accepted an offer so we can probably drop the pretence now. You’re probably dying to get Kourai-kun out of your hair.”

Hirugami’s smile freezes in place. “Actually, speaking of, I wanted to ask you about that. Courting, I mean. What does that entail? Is it some kind of formal thing, to court a werewolf?”

Fukurou gives him a wary look. “It’s not as formal as it used to be, no. It’s not much different from human dating, although there are generally rituals involved. Cooking for your partner, washing them, providing gifts. That kind of thing. In packs with more rigorous hierarchies it’s expected that you get the permission of the alpha.”

“Right.”

“Why do you ask?”

Hirugami pats his brother on the knee. “I feel like I ought to let you know, and I want to make it clear that I’m not asking for your permission, but I’m planning to court Kourai-kun.”

Fukurou splutters. “You’re going to – going to, _what?_ ”

Hirugami gives him another pat and then stands.

“Does _he_ know this?”

“Not yet,” he says. “But he will.”

*

Hirugami starts keeping a calendar in his office, crossing off the days towards the full moon. More and more he finds himself watching out the window once darkness falls, even though the orange haze of light pollution and city smog generally masks it from view. It’s yet another sign of how much his life has changed since Hoshiumi was first brought into the clinic; how so much of what he does is influenced by the pack. He doesn’t mind. If anything it’s nice to have something else to think about other than work. To have something to look forward to.

“What’s with the calendar?” Nozawa says as he changes into his casual clothes for the evening. “You waiting on something?”

“Oh, something like that,” he says, smiling easily. “Good night.”

“Night, Sachirou.”

As he strips out of his scrubs and into his normal clothes, he hears Suwa on the phone sounding strained. Idly he wonders if things are going well with Hana, his mind more occupied on what to make for dinner. Fukurou’s words still drift around his mind, wondering what kind of gifts Hoshiumi might appreciate. He doesn’t seem to care about very much, beyond the pack and proving his place within it.

“You heading out?” Suwa says, ducking his head around the door. “I’ll lock up tonight.”

“You sure?” he says.

“Yeah, I owe you more than a few turns anyway.” He grins. “Besides, it looks like you’ve got someone to get home to these days.”

Hirugami rolls his eyes but he can’t hide his own smile, waving him off as he heads out. The night is cool but not unbearably so and he enjoys the walk back, dropping by the konbini at the end of his street to pick up some extra ingredients for dinner before he gets to his apartment. It’s oddly quiet when he enters, changing his shoes in the genkan. Is Hoshiumi still at work at this hour?

Padding through, he finds it dark inside, the lights out. He’s not sure what to make of the disappointment he feels as he puts away his shopping, not until he hears the sound of rustling from within his bedroom. Cautious, he steps towards it, the door slightly ajar. Prising it open, he peers in and spots a white lump nestled atop his covers, blinking in surprise. “Kourai-kun?” he murmurs, unable to raise his voice.

The wolf’s ears twitch, head twisting. Two incandescent eyes stare back at him. Hirugami finds himself frozen, unable to say or do anything when captured by the sight of Hoshiumi’s wolf form on his bed. He wonders what it means. Wonders if it’s a sign that Hoshiumi trusts him enough to be like this so openly in front of him. He’s certainly making no move to attack him, simply staring at him from the gloom of his bedroom.

“I’m making dinner,” he says, retreating to the kitchen to flick on the lights. As he starts chopping ingredients he hears the clack of nails against his floor, followed by grunts and the crack of bones. He winces. Shifting sounds so painful. He’s not sure how they put up with it.

“What are you making?”

Hirugami whirls, seeing Hoshiumi bathed in the sallow light of his kitchen unit. He’s completely naked, rippling with muscle. Across his chest three pink lines are fading into his skin, yet more scars to add to his collection. It’s not the first time Hirugami has seen him naked and yet his throat dries all the same, the air charged with a thickening tension the longer he looks, never daring to drop his eyes lower than chest height. It feels different this time. Less perfunctory, even if it means nothing to a werewolf.

Hoshiumi arches a brow and Hirugami coughs, turning back to his work. “Food,” he says. “You hungry?”

“Starving.”

“You, ah, going to put something on there, buddy?”

He sees Hoshiumi shift his weight out of the corner of his eye. “Why? I didn’t think it bothered you.”

“It doesn’t, really,” he replies, keeping his tone even. “But you have to admit it is a little weird.”

Hoshiumi huffs. “Fine.”

When Hirugami sets out the steaming bowls of rice Hoshiumi emerges in one of his worn university shirts and shorts that come right down to his knees. Despite the differences in their height the shirt is tight against his shoulders and arms, a fact Hirugami can’t help but notice as he carries over the rest of the dishes. Hoshiumi throws the food down like Hirugami will take if off him if he doesn’t, cheeks packed full as he chews.

“Good?”

“Mmph.”

Hirugami laughs at him. “Try not to choke. I’m a vet not a doctor.”

Hoshiumi tries to nip him with his chopsticks but he swipes his hand out of the way.

That night Hoshiumi settles onto the couch, gathering up the blankets Hirugami had given him when he first started to stay over at his apartment. On his way to the bedroom he pauses, hand trailing the back of the couch. “My bed’s pretty big, you know,” he says, watching the ripple of emotion across Hoshiumi’s face. “You’ll hurt your back sleeping on the couch all the time.”

Hoshiumi narrows his eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Who says I’m doing anything?”

“Then why are you asking me to – _you know?_ ”

Hirugami leans over, examining his face in the lamplight. Colour spots his cheeks. Does he understand the implication? From Hirugami’s understanding werewolves have no shame sleeping with other pack members, unperturbed by nakedness because they so often lose clothes to shifting. Hoshiumi is normally so fearless he doesn’t expect the resistence but maybe Hirugami just isn’t considered pack yet.

“What’s the matter?” he says, arching a brow. “You didn’t have a problem with it last time.”

“You were – I don’t have a problem with it!”

“No? Okay, then.” He trails through to his bedroom, drawing the curtains and changing into clothes for sleeping.

It takes a few minutes before he hears rustling and then the bed dips with Hoshiumi’s weight as he throws himself onto it. Hirugami is careful not to look at him, tucking himself under the blankets. It’s a bit like coaxing out some timid little woodland creature, only Hoshiumi is never timid and would probably murder him if he called him little. Still, his uncharacteristic reticence is oddly charming, even if it’s not the first time they’ve shared a bed. The last time Hirugami had awoken with their limbs entangled, Hoshiumi’s face tucked into his neck. He had latched onto him in his sleep and grumbled when Hirugami had attempted to leave to get ready for work.

“You can stay here, if you want,” he says, rolling over to face Hoshiumi’s back. They haven’t really talked about it yet but neither has Hoshiumi given any indication that he wants to leave. “You practically live here already anyway.”

Hoshiumi huffs out a noise, snuggling into the pillow.

“Okay, how about I’d like it if you stayed.”

Green eyes blink back at him as he twists. “Why?”

Hirugami shrugs. “Do I need to have a reason?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I want you to.”

“That’s not a reason.”

“Sure it is.”

Hoshiumi throws a pillow at his face, Hirugami snagging it as he laughs and tucking it beneath his chin. “Hey, give it back!”

“But you gave it to me.”

“I need it to sleep.”

Hirugami grins at him. “Then come get it back from me, why don’t you?”

Hoshiumi cocks his head for a long, quiet moment, and then he lunges, the pair of them rolling across the bed as they wrestle for the pillow. In the end Hirugami relinquishes the pillow so that he can watch Hoshiumi burrow his face into it, hair sticking up at all ends. He falls asleep that night with one arm thrown over his waist, thinking that he’s never felt more content in his life.

*

“Why are you coming with us this time?”

“Gee, thanks.” Hirugami places a hand over his heart. “Here I am, thinking we’ve bonded and you just want me gone.”

Hoshiumi rolls his eyes, nudging him on the shoulder. “Oh, shut up. You know what I mean.”

Hirugami swings his bag onto his shoulder, grabbing his car keys. “Something tells me it’s a good idea to have a vet to hand, just in case.”

As he passes him on the way to the door, Hirugami grabs his collar and yanks him back. Hoshiumi squawks, arms flailing, and spins to punch him on the shoulder. Laughing, Hirugami catches his wrist and unfurls his fingers, pressing a key chain into his hand and then closes his fist again. “For you, since you’re staying.”

“Hah?” Hoshiumi lifts the plastic seagull keychain, a single key dangling from it. He squints up at Hirugami suspiciously. “What’s this?”

“Your own personal key to my place, dumbass. Thought you might want to make it official now.”

The scowl drops off Hoshiumi’s face, replaced by something more raw. Surprised. Hirugami feels himself squirm in the spot for a moment, unsure whether to play the moment cool or not. He hates having to be so open with his feelings but he gets the sense that if he doesn’t Hoshiumi won’t pick up on them. Maybe once the full moon is over he’ll work up the courage to say it aloud but for now this will have to do. With someone like Hoshiumi he thinks it’s probably better to take it slower. To work up to something more.

Hoshiumi grabs his wrist, squeezing tight. “You don’t – I don’t think you know what this means.”

He lifts a brow. “Don’t I?”

“ _Sachirou,_ ” he growls.

“Call it a present, for moving in.”

Before Hoshiumi can say anything further a knock interrupts them, Shouko marching through with a rucksack on her back, a baseball cap with the Hikari Pharmaceutical Red Rabbits log on the front. “Are you guys ready to go? We still need to pick up Wakatoshi-kun and Tobio-kun.”

Hirugami clears his throat, spinning his car keys on his fingers. “Yep, we’re all set.”

After picking up Ushijima and Kageyama, Hirugami follows Shouko’s instructions out of the city, the moon a haunting presence in his rearview mirror as he escapes the city’s natural glow and enters the darkness of the forest trails that lead up into higher ground. He’s glad he has them with him; he doesn’t think he could find it by memory given how stricken he had been when Atsumu had driven him the last time. Even without the threat to his brother’s life he still feels apprehensive, knots twisting in his stomach. The thought of them all running out there in the woods with hunters loose leaves him feeling ill.

“That’s the road there,” Shouko says, pointing.

It’s easy to miss, little more than a gap between the pines where a track has been worn into the earth. By the time his headlights wash over the silhouette of the cabin Hirugami is feeling strung out, the five of them eerily quiet for most of the journey beyond the soft murmur of Ushijima saying something to Kageyama. He pulls up outside the door, seeing the lights burning through the window. At least he has somewhere to wait out the night. He doesn’t think he could camp out there with the wolves all roaming wild.

“How soon?” he says to Hoshiumi as he grabs the bags from the back.

“Soon.” His eyes gleam in the moonlight. “It feels strong tonight.”

“All the more reason that we all stick together out there,” Fukurou says as he appears at the doorway. “Don’t go running off alone. We’ll be safe if we stick together.”

“I know that!”

Fukurou catches Hirugami’s arm as the other pack members enter the cabin and he halts on the porch, washed in orange light. “As much as I’d rather not involve you in this, I feel good to know that you’re going to be here tonight.”

Hirugami grimaces. “Let’s just make sure my skills aren’t needed, yeah? I think I’ve already patched up enough of your pack to last a lifetime.”

Fukurou laughs, eyes crinkling. Voice lowering, he says, “At least if Kourai seeks you out then you’ll be in the woods with us.”

His brows rise. “You were worried about that?”

“A little.” Fukurou shrugs. “It’s natural for a wolf to be protective of their partner. If he feels threatened at some point instinct may drive him to make sure that you’re safe.”

Hirugami leans in, gaze flicking to the door. “We’re not… I don’t think that’ll be an issue.”

Fukurou just smiles at him. “I think you’d be surprised.”

With that they enter the warmth of the cabin, the wolves of Fukurou’s pack all gathered inside. There’s a tension to each of them, Hirugami notices, and he realises that it must be the compulsion that comes with the full moon making them want to shift. As soon as they start to strip Hirugami retreats for the bedroom, for as much as he doesn’t care much about the others, he most certainly does not want to see Fukurou or Shouko naked. He winces as he hears the snap of bones, growls rumbling through the room as they shift one by one. The next thing he knows he’s alone in the cabin with the howl of the wind, cold air cutting through the room. The door slams against the wall until he closes it, cocooning himself in shelter.

From there it’s a slow wait, his internet connection spotty this far into the wilderness. He ends up pulling out a book he’s been meaning to read but never really found the time to, yet he finds it difficult to concentrate, glancing up every time he hears the distant chorus of howling wolves. It sounds like a haunting song, goosebumps forming across his skin, and he pauses just to listen to it drift through the trees that surround the cabin.

Eventually he must succumb to sleep because the next thing he knows he’s jerking awake with a start, a banging noise throwing him out of his dream. Hirugami pushes to his feet, seeing the dark indigo sky rippled with the faintest glimmer of light on the horizon. Dawn is fast approaching which he takes to be a good sign, but he doesn’t feel good about the noise reverberating in his eardrums. Grabbing the baseball bat that he brought with him mostly for his own illusion of safety, he steps out onto the porch and watches the trees sway with the wind. All is silent.

Then suddenly a figure appears between the trees, running towards him. He recognises the large brown wolf as Fukurou and he hefts a sigh of relief to see him unharmed. Fukurou is already halfway shifted by the time he brushes past him into the cabin, growling as his body rearranges itself. A few minutes later he emerges in yesterday’s clothes, his hair mussed.

“Is everything okay?”

Fukurou frowns, eyes ahead of him. “I don’t know. I heard gunshots but I couldn’t smell any blood. I thought it better to come back here since this is our agreed meeting point.”

“I heard something too,” he says, gnawing on his lip. “I was asleep but it woke me up.”

At that moment Shouko appears, a brown wolf so similar to his brother it would be easy to mistake them, only she’s a little on the leaner side. After her comes Romero and Kageyama, the pair exchanging soft words with Fukurou as Shouko scowls on the porch.

“There were definitely hunters,” she says and Hirugami’s stomach twists. “I could smell them.”

One by one the pack filter back but there’s still no sign of Hoshiumi. Hirugami’s grip grows tighter and tighter on his baseball bat until his hands are shaking. He takes a step onto the grass but a hand on his arm pulls him back, Fukurou’s gaze stern. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Hirugami yanks his arm free. “I need to find him. You said he would come to me, didn’t you?”

“What happens if the hunters find you?”

“If they shoot me then they’ll be going down for attempted murder and I’ll make fucking sure of it.”

Whatever Fukurou sees in his eyes loosens his hand and then Hirugami is running off into the forest, swallowed up by the trees in moments. He still has his bat in hand for all the good it would do him, tiny branches snapping as he shoves his way through, barely able to see where he’s going. Every noise startles him, heart racing as he turns his head in every direction, lost in the tangle of the undergrowth. But he needs to find Hoshiumi. He needs to know he’s safe. So he pushes onwards, drinking in the deep, earthy scent of the woods.

“Kourai-kun?” he calls out. “Kourai-kun, where are you?”

Birds cry out and flap through the trees, wet leaves squelching beneath his boots. The quiet keeps him on edge, his breaths coming quicker as he moves deeper into the forest. Images pass through his mind, of Hoshiumi shot and bleeding out. He remembers red staining white fur and feels his heart plunge into ice water. It makes him angry, to think that anyone could hunt human beings like that, wolf shifters or no. He lets the anger fill him up, fuel him on his march, fire crackling in his veins.

“Kourai-kun! I’m here, Kourai!”

A twig snaps and he whirls, heart skipping a beat as he sees a figure through the woods. He lifts his bat and holds it in front of him, taking careful steps forward. “Who’s there?”

Hirugami hears voices and then he stops short, the bottom falling out of his stomach as he sees them. His hand drops, bat dangling from his fingers, as he tries to find words. “How… what are you doing here?” he whispers.

“Sachirou?” Suwa’s eyes are wide, as are Bessho’s behind him. In both of their hands is the evidence. Shotguns, gleaming in the faint pink shimmer of dawn through the trees.

Hirugami’s fuse snaps and then he’s shoving Suwa against the nearest tree, fists in his collar. “What the fuck are you doing? Did you hurt him? What did you do to him?”

Suwa still looks too stunned to react, Bessho attempting to pull him off. “Dude,” he says, “we had no idea you were out here.”

“I thought you didn’t know,” Suwa says quietly. “You never… you know about…”

“Fukurou?” he spits. “Yeah, I do. I always did.”

Suwa swallows.

“Did you hurt him? Did you?” he shakes his violently.

“You need to calm down,” Bessho says, hands raised. “We were only scaring them off. We didn’t shoot any of them.”

“They’re human beings! One of them is my brother! My sister!” He stares at Suwa as he says this, chest heaving.

Suwa licks his lips. “You don’t know what they’re capable of. They lose control at this time. The amount of campers that have reported animals attacks… it can’t go on.”

“Not my brother,” Hirugami says, a deathly calm washing over him. “Not his pack.”

Suddenly a howl pierces the forest and he stills, head turning as a shiver runs through him. Hirugami knows. He _knows_. With one last shove at Suwa, he growls out, “You better pack your bags and get back to the fucking city, right now. We’ll talk about this later.”

Then he’s running, long legs carrying him towards the direction of the howling. The branches cut at his face and arms, his lungs burning with the pace, but he doesn’t care. All he can think about is Hoshiumi; about proving to himself that he’s okay. That he’s not bleeding out on the forest floor. He can hear his breaths rattle out of his mouth, chasing the rising sun. Another howl echoes out, much closer than before.

A weight bowls into him and sends him flying, Hirugami’s back hitting the trunk of a tree with a gasp as he’s pressed into it by the solid weight of another body. Growls rumble out from Hoshiumi’s mouth as he grabs at him, hands roaming his arms, his sides, his shoulders, then his face as if ensuring that he’s okay. His eyes are fire bright in the dawn light and he’s completely naked. Relief crashes into him all at once, his knees buckling, but Hoshiumi’s solid weight keeps him upright.

“Kourai-kun,” he breathes. “You’re alright. You’re really alright.”

“Sachirou, you’re mine,” Hoshiumi rumbles, voice still half-animal. “ _Mine._ ” His fingers press into Hirugami’s jawline hard enough to bruise.

“I’ve only been trying to tell you for weeks.”

Hoshiumi produces a feral noise from the back of his throat.

Their mouths crash together all at once, hot and wet and messy and far too much teeth. Hoshiumi’s growling vibrates down his palate, making him latch onto his waist and haul him in closer until they’re completely flush, a thigh slipping between his legs. He can feel the bark press into his back, smell the fresh scent of pine and the natural musky scent of Hoshiumi as he chases his mouth, licking in between his teeth. Hirugami doesn’t even care about how shameless it is, just relieved to be able to hold him in his arms, to feel solid muscle beneath his roaming hands.

_He’s alive._ Hirugami had been so afraid for one moment. So sure that something had happened.

They break for air, saliva stringing between them, and he buries his face in Hoshiumi’s neck. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. _Please._ ”

“Sachirou?”

When he pulls back he nearly loses control at the sight of Hoshiumi streaked with golden sunlight, his mouth red and swollen and his eyes blazing. His short white hair is in complete disarray, whether from running the woods or Hirugami’s manhandling he’s not sure, and he’s so solid in his arms, muscle firm beneath his fingertips. Hirugami lets his head fall forward, knocking their foreheads together as he draws the air back into his lungs. He cups Hoshiumi’s jaw, thumbs running circles over his skin.

“I was looking for you,” Hoshiumi says, voice gravelly.

“Yeah, me too. I was looking for you too.”

Hoshiumi leans up and kisses him again, the press of their lips slower this time. A hand is wrapped around the back of his neck, teeth rolling his lip before his tongue chases inside. Hirugami can feel himself burning up, reason running away from him as he responds with enthusiasm. Their breaths mingle, kisses turning quicker before he pulls away to nose across Hoshiumi’s jaw. As much as he’s seriously considering rutting out in the woods, he wants nothing more than to take his time. To savour every touch properly.

“We should probably head back,” he says even though he doesn’t want to move. “The others will be worried.”

“Screw them,” Hoshiumi breathes into his face, stealing another quick kiss.

Huffing a laugh, Hirugami pulls back, shucks off his jacket and wraps it around Hoshiumi’s shoulders. Hoshiumi looks like he wants to protest but instead he drags it fully over him, snuffling into the lining. The sight of him, whole and shining in the sun, is more than he can take. He feels champagne-giddy, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, Kourai-kun,” he says, as they pick their way back through the forest, “does this mean I successfully courted you?”

Hoshiumi pokes him in the side. “Who’s to say I wasn’t courting you?”

*

The pack pile on them as soon as they return to the cabin, questions coming from all angles. Hirugami has his hands raised to ward them off but before he can even speak Hoshiumi is shoving his way in front of him and snarling until they back off. Fukurou and Shouko exchange a look and Hirugami grimaces, knowing to expect a grilling later. But first thing’s first:

“I saw the hunters.” The rest of the wolves stiffen as he meets Fukurou’s eye. “I know them. I had no idea they were… well, it doesn’t matter now. I’m going to find out everything I can about what they’re doing and I’m going to stop them.”

“Sachirou, it’s dangerous,” Fukurou says.

Hirugami’s hand drops onto Hoshiumi’s thigh and squeezes, feeling his warmth radiate. “I know them. I can convince Suwa and Bessho to stop, I’m sure of it. For the others, I’ll find out what it takes so you can all run safely again. I’m human, so it’s not like they can expose me.”

He turns to meet each member of the pack’s gaze in turn, seeing conviction echoed in every one of their faces. Lastly he looks to Fukurou, daring him to challenge him.

But Fukurou nods. “You’re not alone, Sachirou. We’re one pack and we’ll get through this together.”

"I want to make it official," he says. "I want to join your pack as a member."

**Author's Note:**

> This is yet another random idea that completely ran away from me... 
> 
> I really love Hirugami's story, particularly that in a manga about celebrating volleyball, we have a character who finds his happiness in walking away from the sport because he's going through burnout. For a minor character his backstory really touched me and I love the close friendship he has with Hoshiumi. They're both complete opposites and yet they understand one another really well. Basically, this is my long ass attempt to make y'all ship this ship.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
